Mystery Dungeon: Naïve Amnesia
by EkaSwede
Summary: A Machop with speech problems and a kleptomaniac Charmander are forced to form a Rescue Team so they can pay off a debt. Though, fate has other plans... A different take on the first game.
1. Be you my friend?

_**Mystery Dungeon: Naïve Amnesia**_

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon nor do I own any of the games. (I hate disclaimers, they're pointless, stupid, but there's somehow always a fricking need for them!)

Well, to make it clear; this will hopefully be my first and last novelization of a game, but I'm not too sure about that. I will use this as an experiment to see if I can make things interesting and surprising. It's not a parody if you think so, just a little different take… just a little. One more note, I've never played the game, but I've watched some guys play it. Well, here goes!

Extra edit: Due to FFn's policy of "Hyphens being utterly evil for line breakers", I've been forced to fix all chapters. Although there might be some pros to this, fixing errors, editing meaningless stuff out such as the redundant "To be continued", etc, etc.

_**Chapter I: Be you my friend?**_

* * *

_It all begun with a boy who had a dream, a dream in which he could be a known individual. He was known as playful at most times, yet very foolhardy. He imagined a lot of being another being, a being with strength superior to human._

_However…_

_In another world, something terrible was about to happen. This event, an event that would bring mass destruction and devastation, was to be hindered by a certain someone._

_An intervention had to occur to stop this foreseen destruction. This intervention would consist of a brave boy with many playful, innocent imaginations. This boy would undertake a quest to hinder this terrible event._

_But something went wrong before the metamorphosis… something very, very wrong…_

* * *

A Pokémon which had been sleeping against a tree slowly woke up. It sat up groggily and shook its head as if to remain consciousness faster. It felt a beating pain on its forehead as it put its grey hand on it.

'_Grey?'_ it thought slowly. It put its hand down on the grassy ground and looked at itself. Its entire body was grey, and it could see the ribs on its chest. It wiggled its toeless feet curiously, wondering why it had them.

"Finally awake, eh?" a voice called, "took you long enough."

It almost jumped to its feet in surprise, but it only resulted falling down on its rear end again. It looked at the direction from where the voice had come from. An orange lizard looked at it with curious blue eyes. It was about to freak out when it noticed something terrible.

"L-l-l-look out, Orange lizard thing!" it shouted, pointing at the lizard's tail, "Tail yours on fire is!"

The orange Pokémon peeked at its tail and shrugged. It then looked back at the sitting Pokémon oddly.

"You know, Machop, it's supposed to. If a Charmander's flame is put out, they die," said the Charmander, revealing both species of the Pokémon.

"Charomandor?" asked the Machop, not having heard that in its life. Charmander stomped forward once, its tail flaring up. Machop, however, didn't show any sign of fear.

"No, Char-Man-Der, dense-head!" it snapped.

"…eh… what?" Machop carefully asked, feeling a little uneasy.

Charmander sighed, putting one of its paws on its chin, tilting its head. "Oh, brother…"

"You brother mine are?" Machop then asked hopefully with a smile, only receiving a glare from Charmander.

"First off, I'm a girl! Secondly, speak clearly, since it's hard to understand what you say! Jeez!" she spat, letting loose of a puff of smoke. Machop just continued smiling.

"Then Orange lizard my girl-brother is?" Charmander was now close to popping a vein. She was clenching one of her paws hard enough to hear some cracks in the knuckles. "Why angry Orange lizard be? Be you troubled?"

"YES!" Charmander shouted right at the Pokémon as she punched the tree it was sitting by. Once again, Machop wasn't even fazed and continued to stare into Charmander's eyes with the same curious expression. "IT'S YOU! WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?" she shouted again at it.

"Me not know where me is…" Machop muttered, finally looking down. "Me not know what me is."

Charmander looked at him, unable to say anything at first. She wondered if this Pokémon had strayed to far from home. But then, Fighting Pokémon where Fighting Pokémon: All brawls and no brain.

"Well, you're a Machop, and you're just outside Tiny Woods," she shortly answered, receiving a confused look from Machop. "Oh… not again," she muttered.

"What a Machop?" it asked curiously, smiling again. Charmander smacked her head with her paw in exasperation.

"Come here, there is a stream where you can see your reflection," she beckoned. Seeing as Machop just stared at her blankly, she sighed and grabbed a hold of its arms and pulled it up. "You're heavy," she stated. Machop glanced up at the sky and smiled goofily while he was dragged by the fire lizard.

When they came up to the stream, Machop's eyes lit up.

"Water, yay! Me thirsty!" it exclaimed jollily as it ran ahead of Charmander. She fortunately let go of the happy Pokémon and watched it jump in the water. The water splashed enough to make Charmander back off so she wouldn't get any water over her.

But Machop didn't resurface. Worried, Charmander ran to the water's edge to see if Machop was under the surface.

"Peek-a-boo!" it shouted as it suddenly popped out from the surface, as happy as ever. It guffawed when it saw Charmander jump back in sudden fright. Fortunately for Machop, the water level wasn't high where he was, which allowed him to pull the little prank. "Fun!" it shouted as it began drinking the fresh water.

When it was done it walked out of the water, and shook of the remaining water like a dog. "Much fun!" it added with a laugh. Charmander grew even more annoyed.

"Gah! Stop it! It's cold!" she yelled, cowering from the water droplets being flung at her. Machop turned to look at her. It tilted its head and raised an eyebrow (or whatever they have resembling eyebrows).

"Orange lizard… is small,' it stated, now that it was standing up fully. She grumbled a little but then urged it to look in the stream. Machop stared blankly before getting down on all fours, looking in the river.

It looked in it for a while before it smiled. "Hello," it happily greeted. Charmander looked at the Pokémon oddly and walked up to it.

"That's you, Machop," she simply said. Machop looked at her and shook its head.

"No, no, silly lizard. Me is me, and he is he!" Machop looked back into the stream, and saw a greyish face with three disc like thingies on the top of its head. It also saw a pair of dark red eyes in the reflection, filled with joy.

"He is he?" inquired Charmander. "You mean that you're a guy?" Machop nodded. "Why didn't you say so?" she then asked him angrily.

"Silly lizard asked me not," he replied, still looking at his reflection.

She clenched her paws, having had enough being called lizard. "I have a name you know!" she snarled. Machop smiled and stood up, looking at her with the fearless, innocent eyes. That almost made her even angrier, why couldn't the darn creature get scared?

"My name's Flash," she said, mumbling cuss words under her breath.

"Good name," replied Machop. He rubbed his chin. "Me not have name, me forget." He hung his head sadly, showing that expression for once. "Me think it was something with L… L...

The Charmander looked at the Machop with a little pity and cautiously walked up to him to comfort him. "Don't be sad, I can come up with a new name for you."

Machop lit up again. "Will you?" Flash nodded eagerly.

"Uh-huh, what about… hmm… Loopy?" she suggested. Machop smiled, but was confused.

"What Loopy mean?"

Flash scratched her head with her small claws. "Well, it means happy, yet funny, I think."

"Loopy?" he said to himself slowly. "Loopy…" Suddenly he started laughing out loud as he quickly walked up to Flash, catching her in a tight hug. He lifted her up and danced around with her, still laughing.

"Oof! Down, Loopy, DOWN!" she yelled while she was being squeezed by the stronger Machop.

He immediately let go, still smiling. "Apologise, me too strong sometimes," he said lowly, flexing his arms a little.

"My ribs," muttered Flash, regaining her breath. "No more hugging, Loopy."

"Will try to not, but will forget," he replied obediently. She chuckled, despite the ache in her lungs after the hug. But this moment wouldn't go peacefully on though.

"THERE SHE IS!" one Pokémon yelled from a distance. It seemed like an angry looking pinkish dog.

"AFTER THE THIEF!" another one added. That one was much larger than the other, and was brownish.

Flash looked at Loopy and then suddenly darted off. The two chasing Pokémon soon ran by him, ignoring him completely. When he looked as the chasing Pokémon ran after Flash, he had seen that the big brown one was carrying a small Pokémon in its pouch.

And there he sat, completely clueless of what to. Why did Flash run away? What was a thief? And why was he just standing there?

"LOOPY!" he heard Flash call. Not having anything to do, he ran to where he heard the voice.


	2. No hurt Flash!

_**Chapter II: No hurt Flash!**_

Flash had run up to a dead end, or more exactly, she was at another part of the stream, where the two pursuers of hers blocked any way of escape. The two Pokémon, which consisted of a Snubbull and a Kangaskhan. Both looked rather angry.

"Gotcha!" snarled Kangaskhan, punching her paw in her other threateningly while her child in her pouch glared at Flash.

"Where's the stuff you stole, thief?" asked Snubbull, standing firmly with his arms crossed.

Flash gulped sheepishly before answering. "But I didn't take any-"

"You did, Flash, don't deny it," interjected Kangaskhan, "Snubbull saw you sneaking out with some items." Flash glared at the pinkish bulldog Pokémon, who briefly shudder. Kangaskhan stomped forward once to get Flash's attention. "Where is your loot?" she boomed.

Flash yelped as the big Pokémon bellowed at her. Of course she knew she used to accidentally steal things, but she didn't have them on her right now.

"B-b-but I don't have anything," she stuttered, lying unintentionally.

Kangaskhan stomped the ground again, hard enough to make the ground tremble a little. "LIAR!" she bellowed, "you have probably already sold the merchandise to your criminal contacts. And for that…" she raised a fist. She looked at Snubbull.

"We have to take you in," finished the bulldog Pokémon, stepping forward.

"But I don't want to live in captivity!" pleaded Flash, whom had gotten down on her knees. She was getting teary in her eyes.

Snubbull smiled, which was hardly noticeable due to its bulldoggish mouth. "Then we have to make sure you don't steal anymore," he said lowly. Both he and Kangaskhan approached Flash steadily, ready to fight.

Flash stood up and tried backing away, but as soon as her left foot touched the water she yelped. She turned and looked at the stream; if she fell in the water, she'd drown, but standing here would get her killed anyway by those two Pokémon. She looked back at her would be attackers; there was no chance she'd take down a Pokémon _that_ big!

Seeing no choice, she stood still, petrified with fear. Kangaskhan was right in front of her, and raised her fist to let loose a powerful punch. Flash cowered and covered her eyes.

The blow never came.

"Why Big thing want hurt Flash?" a voice asked. Flash recognized it and, of course, the messed up speech pattern.

She peeked through her paws, and saw Loopy the Machop in front of her, holding Kangaskhan's fist that would've stricken her. He seemed different now, though. Instead of his usual jolly attitude, he looked at the Kangaskhan angrily. His fist shook as he held off the opposing Pokémon's bigger paw.

Kangaskhan growled as she pulled back her paw in order to bring up the arrogant Machop so he'd be an easy target for her. Bad mistake.

As Machop was pulled up, he readied a punch with his other fist and managed to punch Kangaskhan right before she did. He hit her hard in her right eye, causing her to drop him. He landed gracefully on the ground, flexing his muscles as he looked at the downed Pokémon.

"Me be strong," he proudly said, cracking a smile. He turned to face Snubbull, who seemed to feel uncomfortable. He slowly walked up to him, leering at the bulldog Pokémon.

Flash had been staring with awe at Loopy. He had knocked that Kangaskhan down all by himself. And he had done it for protecting her. She also felt guilty in a way.

"Back off!" snarled Snubbull as he bared his lower jaw teeth at Loopy in an attempt to threaten him. But Loopy just continued his calm, annoyingly carefree approach towards the Pokémon. "Eh-heh heh, nice Machop," he stuttered, backing slightly off himself.

"Me is nice," replied Loopy, smiling as he kept walking. But his smile turned into an angry frown. "But me no nice when mean things hurt Flash want," he then lowly said, raising a clenched fist.

Snubbull whimpered as he, in panic, leapt at the Machop, preparing to bite him. Machop swiftly sidestepped and sent a short upper right under the bulldog Pokémon's jaw. He followed up with a hard Low Kick, striking his opponent's crotch.

The air was knocked out of Snubbull as he fell to the ground, clutching his groin. Machop towered over the lying Pokémon as he brought up his hand, readying a Karate Chop.

Machop brought his palm down powerfully, but miscalculated the target and missed, toppling over. Fortunately for him, though, was that his head accidentally knocked Snubbull's, knocking him out.

He stood up, a little dizzy. He looked down at the defeated Pokémon and held his arms up in victory. "Me wins! Me be very strong!" he performed a small, but ridiculous victory dance, but then rubbed his head. "Maybe me must practise Karate Chop more… still clumsy."

Flash walked up to him, bursting with happiness and impression. "Loopy, that was awesome!" she commended, clapping her claws. "You beat them up like nothing! You're a great fighter!"

Loopy put his hands on his hip proudly, posing a little. "Me know. Very strong, says me!" he said rather goofily as he laughed afterwards. He then put his hands down, looking at her with inquisitive eyes. "Why mean Pokémon want you hurt?" he asked.

Flash's happiness faltered a bit, she tried to tell him but she couldn't. She briefly looked away from him. "They're after me because…" She stopped, staring at the large shadow which was looming over both Loopy and her.

Loopy just looked at the big shadow and turned around to see that Kangaskhan was back up. She had a black eye after the punch Loopy had given her, and she seemed mad as hell. Before Loopy knew it, the enraged Kangaskhan had him grabbed by the neck, and was slowly hauled up to her eyelevel.

"So," she began, snarling and baring her teeth at the Machop. Machop wasn't even close to intimidated; he just looked back at her calmly. "It appears that you are her new bodyguard? Not good enough, I must say." She dodged a punch from Loopy as she held her arm outstretched. She turned to Flash, glaring at her.

"Your father must be ashamed of you, Flash," she said, "being such a two-bit thief all the time." Loopy was flailing with his arms and legs, trying to break free. But this time it was too much in Kangaskhan's favour. "Well? How do you want it?" she asked, tightening her grip around Loopy's neck. "Either you tell me where the goods is, or-"

"Urgh, what be a thief?" Loopy coughed, try now to pry himself off Kangaskhan's grip. The Parent Pokémon looked at him oddly and loosened the grip.

"Come again?" she inquired.

"Me not understand, what be thief?" he asked again. Kangaskhan kept looking at him, not fully understanding. Flash however, thought she knew what he meant.

"He wonders what a thief is," she carefully said. "Loopy, a thief is-"

"I can explain that to him myself!" snapped Kangaskhan, sending a brief glare at her. She then looked at Loopy, tightening her grip. He responded by hammering his fists at her wrist repeatedly. That made her let go of him, and he fell down in his rear end.

"Mean, brown bully," muttered Loopy, shaking his fist at Kangaskhan. He slowly stood up, rubbing his neck. "Brown bully has strong grip."

He swiftly dodged a swipe from Kangaskhan, who was now furious. She swiped at him again, this time hitting him and causing him to tumble into Flash.

"Sorry," he muttered to her as he stood up, raising his fists.

"Machop are always full of energy, aren't they?" mused Kangaskhan as she calmed down. "Want to know what a thief is?" she then asked. Loopy lowered his fists, nodding.

"If big meanie no hurt Flash, me listen," he said. Kangaskhan chuckled at first.

"You can call me Kangaskhan, and I presume you are this… Loopy which Flash called for, no?" she asked. Loopy nodded. "Back to the subject. A thief is someone that takes other Pokémon stuff to keep for oneself, it's bad and mean. Your friend is a thief, she took a lot of important goods I had in my storage," she explained sternly, looking a Loopy.

Loopy seemed confused. "What be subject?" he asked, scratching his head. Flash put her paw at her forehead and sighed.

"You imbecile!" growled Kangaskhan, "didn't you listen?" This made Loopy even more confused.

"What be imcebile?" he then asked, smiling hopefully. The Parent Pokémon roared and stomped the ground.

"Uh, Kangaskhan, don't use any complex words, he's like a hatchling when it comes to conversing," explained Flash. But Kangaskhan glared at her. The glare was losing its effect due to the larger Pokémon's black eye, though.

"SILENCE, YOU THIEF!" she roared back.

"Why Kangokhan yell loud?" asked Loopy, keeping his inquisitive stare at the big Pokémon. She glared at her, but she was somehow clamed by Loopy's calm fearless attitude.

"How could such a nice Machop like you wind up with someone like_ that_?" She looked at Flash with disgust.

"She be nice, give me name!" replied Loopy jollily, glancing at Flash with a smile.

"She steals other's things to keep for herself! She takes them for own profit!" scolded Kangaskhan. Loopy looked at her, and then at Flash with disbelief.

"That be bad?" he asked with worry.

"Yes, it's bad to do such things," confirmed Kangaskhan. Loopy turned around and faced Flash.

"Flash no can be bad, Flash be nice, but why Flash steal?" he asked her, or himself. Flash was silent; she felt bad about this, and guilty. "Is true? That Flash steal?" he then asked her.

Flash gulped and slowly nodded. "…yes…" she slowly said, her body shaking. "I'm sorry," she added.

Loopy walked up to her casually and lightly patted her back. "Might be okay if returning stealen stuff," he suggested. Flash looked up at him, dumbfounded by a for once intelligent remark.

"Ohh, my head…" muttered someone from afar. It was Snubbull who had regained his consciousness. "My groin… and my jaw…" He slowly got on his feet, only to stumble down again. Kangaskhan walked up to him to aid him.

"Poor little Snubbull," she cooed, helping him stand up. "No serious injuries for you, luckily."

"I hope you whacked that Machop and Charmander for me," said Snubbull, rubbing his jaw and forehead.

"I'm getting my merchandise back," assured Kangaskhan, "or mostly, am about to. I've talked that Machop so he on our side."

Back to Loopy and Flash, Flash still stared at him.

"I have the stuff not far from here, I'll just have to hope that it's still there." She received a hug from Loopy, not as hard as the first one he had given, but it was still pretty tight.

"Flash is so nice!" he exclaimed, hugging tighter.

"Gah! I said no hugging!"

He let go of her, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Sorry, me forgot." She giggled a little at his expression. "Now let's get stuff!" he suggested.

"That's more like it!" said Kangaskhan, sounding happy to get her goods back. Flash couldn't see any reason of why she shouldn't comply.

"This way…" she muttered.

They walked off to the path leading to a forest.


	3. Why Flash steal?

_**Chapter III: Why Flash steal?**_

"It's over there," muttered Flash, who had led the three other Pokémon into a forest. She pointed at a large, hollow tree.

"Bring it here," demanded Kangaskhan coldly. Flash looked at her, scared, and walked up to the tree.

Snubbull was still angry at Loopy for what he had done to him. He snarled and bared his lower teeth. "Stupid Machop," he muttered. Loopy grinned and punched his fist in his other palm, sending a mischievous grin. Snubbull yelped and hid behind Kangaskhan.

"Me no hurt pinky doggy. If pinky doggy nice to Flash is, me to pinky doggy nice," he told Snubbull, flexing his muscles.

"Don't call me Pinky!" piped Snubbull from behind Kangaskhan: Loopy smiled at the sight. "I'm Snubbull!"

Loopy held both his hands up in a shrug. "Snublie be nice name," he said, having trouble pronouncing the name.

"Stop picking on Snubbull, you naughty Machop!" scolded Kangaskhan, to whom Loopy stuck his tongue out. Loopy then noticed the baby which was in Kangaskhan's pouch. He curiously walked up to it.

"Hello," he greeted, waving to it. The baby yelped and hid inside the pouch, wailing loudly inside. Kangaskhan swatted Loopy powerfully with her right claw, as Loopy had no time to dodge.

"Look what you did," she snarled, "now you scared my little baby!" She looked down at her pouch and opened it carefully, trying to comfort her baby slightly.

Loopy, however, jumped to his feet, staring at Kangaskhan. "Why hit me? Me tried be nice!" He rubbed his sore cheek. Before Kangaskhan could reply, Flash came back with the sack of various items she had taken out from the tree.

"Here it is," she lowly said to Kangaskhan and Snubbull. Kangaskhan finished cooing her baby and looked at the sack's contents with joy.

"Wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Snubbull, did you bring the list?" Snubbull leaped out from behind with a checklist in his paws with a jolly face expression.

"Yes, ma'am!" he yapped, strutting over to the sack with Kangaskhan as he watched her empty it.

"Thank Mew for this!" Kangaskhan exclaimed, holding up a fine belt. "The Tight Belt is there, now Snorlax will be happy!" She continued going through the contents, "Let's see, two Friend bows, eight Pecha scarves, plenty of gummis… a lot of plain bows."

Meanwhile, Flash was tugging Loopy's arm. "Come on, let's bail," she whispered. She tried to pull him with her in vain as he stood firmly on ground.

"What be bail?" he almost loudly asked. Flash hushed him angrily.

"Shh! We must sneak away, Loopy," she whispered to him, looking over to Snubbull and Kangaskhan who had their attention towards the stolen goods. "They'll still take us in."

"But me no want," whined Loopy, still standing still while Flash tried puling him with her.

"Look, Loopy, when I say we run, we run. I'll explain later. But first we need to sneak," she told him. Loopy looked at her with a confused face. She sighed in frustration, "Not again," she muttered.

"What be sneaking?" he asked her. She responded by forcing him to shut his mouth by putting her paw under it.

"We walk away quietly, and then run for all we got, okay?" she explained, earning a nod from Loopy. "Good, when I count to… I mean, when I say three, we run." Another nod from Loopy.

They silently snuck away from the two Pokémon who were checking that everything Flash had stolen was remaining. She was leading the progress with Loopy behind her, but she couldn't help looking at the other two every now and then.

"Okay," she said, preparing to make a run for it, "when I say three, we run." She wanted to make sure Loopy was with her by repeating her instruction.

"HEY!" roared Kangaskhan from a distance, "Where do you think you're going? There are still items missing on the list!" she yelled.

Flash looked at Loopy awkwardly, "Uhh, three!" she shouted as she took off. Loopy did just what he had been told to: to run when Flash said three.

"AFTER THEM!" bellowed Kangaskhan, about to run after the fleeing Pokémon, but Snubbull stepped in front of her.

"Ignore them, let's pack the stuff we have for now," he suggested, "at least we have the most vital stuff."

Admitting defeat, Kangaskhan sighed. "Even though, this still means I will owe many customers piles of Poké. When I get those two in my claws next time, I'll-"

"Enough, let's just get what we have and head back to town," said Snubbull firmly. Kangaskhan grumbled as she helped her companion pack the stuff. "Snorlax is waiting for that belt, you know."

* * *

While the two Pokémon were running, Loopy tended to overtake Flash every now and then. Since Flash was the one who was supposed to lead them, Loopy slowed down every now and then.

"Flash slow!" he told her while running.

"Excuse me for not having long legs like you!" she shot back, sounding tired. The Machop just smiled and ran ahead again for show. "You're mean!" she then yelled at him. But she suddenly tripped due to a wrong step. She fell face first on the ground, skidding a short distance. Loopy stopped instantly, skidding on his feet a little.

"Be Flash okay?" he asked her with concern, walking towards her. She slowly got up, staggering. "Want me carry Flash?" he suggested.

Flash shook her head. "I'm okay," she muttered, looking over her shoulder. "They aren't following us. Good."

"Why we run?" he wondered. Flash looked at him, feeling a little guilty.

"Well, I noticed some stuff were missing in there, and-"

"Flash use stuff for self?" he interrupted, "How could Flash?" He clenched his fists, turning a little hostile all of a sudden.

"Take it easy, Loopy, I didn't-"

"Me no like bad Pokémon," he said, stepping towards Flash slowly.

"Loopy! I didn't use anything for myself! Someone must've raided the storage!" she protested. Loopy stopped, looking at her disbelievingly. "Please, Loopy," she pleaded, "I'm kind of a kleptomaniac, I steal stuff without knowing. I don't even need the things I steal, so I stash it." Loopy stood still, and then put his hands on his head, as if having a headache.

"Ugh… me confused…" he muttered. Flash carefully walked up to him.

"Hey, Loopy, let's go inside the forest," she softly suggested, pointing at some dark clouds. "Those clouds might hold a lot of rain, so we better get some shelter." Loopy nodded confusedly, still going through a lot of thinking inside his head.

They walked into the forest, and sat down under some trees which were close to each other.

"Where now?" asked Loopy, now having let go of the hard thinking. He looked around himself curiously.

"We're in Tiny Woods, a nice little forest to hang out in," she told him, smiling back at him. But her smile faltered, "but most Pokémon around here has started to act weird, so I'll have to hope we don't get attacked." Question marks seemed to form over Loopy's head, but his face then lit up with happiness.

"Worry no!" cheered Loopy, "Me be strong, and me guard Flash from meanies!" he exclaimed proudly.

Flash giggled at him, "Thanks, that is nice of you. I wished I could breathe fire so I'd be of some help though," she mused. She stood up and inhaled deeply. She then exhaled a big cloud of white smoke, wheezing afterwards. "Nope, not yet…"

Loopy laughed lightly at the sight. "Fun cloud! But if Flash train much, Flash breath fire. Promise!" he said wisely. Flash was actually surprised at that, that Loopy could say such a wise thing. But then, Fighting Pokémon were very devoted to training. "Me tired," he then muttered, yawning.

"Yeah, I'm tired too," agreed Flash, "I hope these trees are enough shelter for the rain," she told herself. "Hey, Loopy, do…" She stopped, Loopy had fallen asleep sitting by the tree. He snored lightly. "Aww," she cooed, finding it cute that he had fallen asleep so quickly.

Loopy then fell down from his sitting position, landing on the ground hard. But he kept sleeping.

"Ouch," she muttered, grimacing. She was tired herself after the long running, but she curled up and slowly fell asleep as well.


	4. Help! Me be scared!

_**Chapter IV: Help! Me be scared!**_

The sky had darkened and it was raining heavily. Thunderbolts were striking from afar and it generated many flashes followed up with loud rumbles afterwards. Not much rain made way through the forest, as the tree shielded the two Pokémon sleeping underneath.

Or… one Pokémon sleeping to be exact. Loopy wasn't sleeping, he was shaking. He cowered for each flash and rumble in fear. He carefully crept up to Flash.

"Flash, wake up," he said first, shaking her cautiously. "Flash, me scared! Wake up!" he shouted, shaking her wildly.

She snapped at him angrily, almost half awake. "What do you want?" she growled, glaring at him. Loopy looked around him sheepishly, shivering.

"Me scared of booming. Sudden light in sky be scary!" he whined. Flash looked at him annoyingly.

"Don't worry, it'll be over soon. Lemme sleep!" she snarled, going back to her curled up position. Loopy whined and shook her again.

"No leave me!" he piped, starting to cry. "Me scared!" He lifted her up from her position and hugged her tightly in fear.

Flash tried to break free from the tight hold, especially since Loopy was a little wet which caused her to feel much colder. "Get off me!" she yelled, but he held on for dear life. She managed to pull out one of her arms from the grip, and used it to push back Loopy's face.

A lightning bolt struck down not far from them with a loud bang, followed with rumble that caused them both shake. Loopy screamed in panic, crying even more. "HELP!" he wailed, tears pouring down his cheeks.

Flash calmed down, despite her ribs being almost crushed, and used her free paw to put on Loopy's back. "Calm down, Loopy, calm down!" she yelled at him, rubbing his back. He kept crying, still shivering. He looked at her, his eyes shimmered through the tears.

"Danger boom things, me scared," he whined again, calming slightly down. He loosened the grip a little, and Flash responded by using her other paw to hug him back.

"We'll be fine, don't worry," she assured softly, comforting him. Loopy dug his head in her belly, snuggling a little. "I'm here with you, Loopy, there's nothing to be-"

**CRACK! BOOM!** Another lightning bolt struck a tree just ten metres from them, it started burning wildly after it had been divided into two.

"Holy mother of Zapdos!" she screamed in shock, but she settled down quickly.

But sadly, Loopy didn't. He screamed like mad, hugging tighter and wailing louder. "NO LEAVE ME!"

Flash hushed him softly, and told him everything was going to be alright. She was surprised that the Machop _was_ afraid of something, but it also relieved her that he wasn't too stupid to be scared. She hugged him again to comfort him, and he breathed slower.

The tree, which had been struck, fell down on the ground not far from them, burning. Luckily, the damp ground put out a majority of the flames, and the raining helped some too. It was reduced to glowing embers.

"Hey, Loopy, I have an idea!" she suggested cheerfully. He looked at her with frightened eyes. "Let's go over to that fallen tree, it's warm and nice there. I'm freezing, you know." She tried to stand up while Loopy clung onto her, but fell down of the weight. "Ugh! You're really clingy, you know that?"

"Wh-what b-be clingy?" he stuttered in reply, shivering. Before Flash could answer that, he said, "Me no want go there, light in sky boom again!" He hugged her tighter.

"Look, Loopy, get off me before you break my ribs! Lightning never strikes at the same spot twice, it's a general rule. It's one hundred percent safe to be there, and it's warm too!" she said firmly, keeping a stern look at the frightened Machop.

He seemed hesitant at first, glancing over to the fallen, glowing tree. He let go of her and stood up. "Me do that," he said with determination in his voice.

Flash smiled and grabbed his hand, walking over to the tree. They sat down in front of it, and warmed their cold bodies. Another flash of lightning, followed up with a rumble some seconds later. Loopy winced, and moved closer to Flash.

"Don't worry," she assured, "the thunderstorm's moving away from us." She stroked his head lightly to calm him down.

"Glowing tree is warm!" exclaimed Loopy jollily, yawning afterwards, "but me tired." Soon after that, he fell asleep on Flash, and the poor Charmander was too tired as well to try lifting him off her.

"Oof, stupid Machop, wake up!" she shouted, but he slept too deep already. Loopy turned over in his sleep so he was sleeping right over her. "Ah, crap. I can't sleep like this," she muttered, trying to push herself up in vain.

The raining stopped, which pleased Flash a little. She was unable to sleep, so she was mostly thinking while looking up at the now clear, starry night sky.

"_I wonder where he comes from. I've never seen him in town, so he could theoretically be from Mt. Discipline"'_ she thought, looking at him. She noticed something funny he was doing. _"What the? Is he… aww, how cute, he's sucking his thumb in his sleep."_ She giggled a little at the sight, but then thought of something that concerned her.

"_He has a mind of a very young child, having speech problems and all… none of his kind have been sighted in this area. It's apparent to me that he has lost his memory, so I should take him to town… he won't be able to get there himself, the poor child, he needs guidance."_

Soon after that, Flash finally fell asleep, being way too tired.

* * *

Flash woke up slowly, she was still a little drowsy, but it was apparently morning. She sat up and yawned, stretching her arms. She then rubbed her eyes before she looked around herself. She noticed that Loopy wasn't on top of her.

"Flash awake?" someone called. She looked at the direction the voice had come from with tired eyes. She saw Loopy shadowboxing in front of a tree. "Flash sleep much!" he said happily, throwing punches at the tree, hard enough not to cause the tree to fall down.

"It's not easy to sleep when a thumb sucker who weights a ton sleeps on me!" she snapped, shaking one of her claws at him. Loopy just laughed.

"No be angry. Is nice day, good for training!" he burst out, flexing his arms. He walked up to the fallen tree (which had stopped glowing from embers) and examined it. He walked over to the tip and looked at it curiously. He then laughed and grabbed the tip, having it upwards with both hands. He put it on his shoulders and used it as a weight as he lifted it up and down repeatedly.

Flash sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fighting Pokémon…" she muttered under her breath, "always showing off…" She walked over to another tree, sitting down and rested against it. When she looked up at the trees, she could see some brown, rough looking birds at the branches.

"Hey, Spearow!" she called, they looked at her curiously, and one of them flew down to her landing in front of her. "Could you do me a favour?" she asked.

"What?" the bird asked, folding its wings.

"Could you fly over to my house and check if it's safe to go there," she requested. Spearow rolled its eyes, sighing.

"Yeah, yeah… whatever."

"Hey, I saved you from that Pidgeotto, remember?" she added, getting impatient.

"You and your spy requests... try getting me at least something in compensation, please?" it told her, spreading its wings.

"I'll do my best," she promised. Spearow beat its wings fast and took off into the sky, the others following.

Loopy was still training with the tree, but he now let go off it. He flexed his muscles, and started examining the tree. He walked up to the middle of the tree and lifted his right hand, trying a Karate Chop. He brought it down with all might at the tree, and when it made impact…

Nothing happened.

Loopy withdrew his hand and clutched it in pain. "Me hand! Hurt much!" he wailed, looking at his beat red hand. He blew some air on it so it would hurt less.

Flash got to her feet and walked to Loopy. "Poor Loopy," she cooed. Loopy tried to ignore the throbbing pain in his hand as he looked at Flash.

"Who be bird Flash talk to?" he asked, wanting to get on another track of subjects. Flash stopped walking and scratched the back of her neck.

"That was just a friend of mine, Spearow. I helped her out two months ago, and she's really nice. Her flock is a little sceptical about me, but they respect me to a degree." Loopy looked at her understandingly, actually getting something for once. "It's always nice to have a flock of Spearow on one's side, don't you think?" she claimed.

"Be good, me thinks! But now, Flash train must!" he exclaimed happily, grabbing a hold of Flash's paw. She resisted, but Loopy was too strong. He dragged her to the tree and pointed at it. "Lift tree until arms tired feel. Good training!" he commanded. Flash glared at him.

"But I can't-" Loopy ignored her and grabbed a hold of the tree, lifting it up. He then tossed the top right at Flash, who couldn't hold so she ended up pinned under it. She flailed around with her feet wildly as she screamed in pain. Loopy realised his mistake and quickly lifted the tree off her. She jumped up and scratched him on his face.

"YOU STUPID MACHOP!" she roared at him, her tail flame flaring up wildly. "I'M A FIRE POKÉMON, I DON'T LIFT WEIGHTS!" She was throwing a fit and stamped the ground. Loopy looked sad as he rubbed his scratched cheek.

"Me sorry," he lowly apologized, "me not know." He looked down in guilt. Flash looked at him.

"_Damn! Why must he be so nice all the time? It's almost impossible to stay angry with him!"_ she thought, walking up to Loopy. "It's okay… you meant well after all," she softly said. Loopy's lit up with happiness as he spread out his arms, attempting a hug. Flash suspected that and quickly ducked, which caused Loopy to hug the air.

"I told you, Loopy, no hugging!" she reminded, backing away. Loopy scratched the back of his neck, sighing with a smile.

"Me forget… again, but me still hug Flash!" he burst out with a laugh as he started to chase Flash. They ran around the forest, and the faster Machop was gaining on her. She knew she couldn't keep this up forever, so she stopped and used her tail to trip him. It worked, and Loopy fell head over heels to the ground. "Will you calm down now?" she asked him, panting.

He nodded, slowly getting up. "What we now do?" he asked.

"We could go home to me, but we should wait until Spearow returns from her mission," she suggested. When she received a confused look from him, she added: "I asked her to check if it was safe at my home, in case any Pokémon was going to attack me when I got there." He gave her a look of affirmation.

"But will Flash soon train?" he then asked her eagerly. She winced at the word.

"Umm, maybe, if I get to train my way," she mumbled. Loopy got happy.

But before they would begin their training, they heard a cry from the woods. _"Help, help! Anyone?"_

A Butterfree came out, flapping its wings madly.

"Oh thank Mew I found you!" she said, sounding female. Flash and Loopy looked at her.

"What happened?" she asked.

"What make odd birdie with big eyes-" Loopy started.

"Shut up!" snapped Flash back.

"My child, my Caterpie fell down in a fissure in the forest! I can't go down there as weird acting, hostile Pokémon are down there! And I fear that Pokémon Pidgey will find him soon. Can you help me?" she pleaded. Flash looked at her hesitantly.

"But aren't there Rescue-"

"We help!" said Loopy dutifully, thumbing his chest proudly. Flash almost glared at him.

"Thank you," the Butterfree thanked, "Come with me, and I'll show you where he fell down!"

"But…" protested Flash, watching Butterfree and Loopy run/fly off. _"Oh, brother… stupid, Loopy. Now I have to get some lousy Caterpie. Meh… it'll take time before Spearow returns, so why not. I need some training after all,"_ she thought, starting to run after the other two. "Hey, wait up!"


	5. We Caterpie Rescue! Fun!

_**Chapter V: We Caterpie Rescue! Fun!**_

The three Pokémon stood right by a small fissure which had opened up in the middle of the forest.

"Tiny Forest, no be tiny!" whined Loopy after he had followed the Butterfree. Flash lightly smacked his head.

"Pay attention!" she ordered, Loopy sighed.

"My baby fell down here, and I went to see if I could find him. But I was attacked by wild Pokémon down there. I don't know why they're so aggressive," explained the butterfly Pokémon.

Flash scratched her head. "Pokémon shouldn't even be down there in the first place," she muttered. She then glanced over to Butterfree. "Say, aren't there rescue teams who can do this instead?"

Butterfree nodded. "Yes, but it'll take time before any of them will get here. When I escaped out of the fissure, I saw a flock of Pidgey dive down, and I fear they'll find my baby soon. He is a good hider, though. But please, I beg of you, you must do this! I'll reward you if you can get him out of there safely!" she pleaded.

"Me go down," said Loopy, walking to the fissure.

"Hey, Loopy, be careful. It's probably slippery after the rain and-"

She abruptly stopped when she saw Loopy lose his footing when he tried to climb down.

"Opsie!" he yelled.

"LOOPY!" screamed Flash in worry. She heard a faint thud coming from the fissure. She ran up to the edge, and got down on her fours, peeking carefully down. "Are you all right?" she yelled down, receiving echoes.

"Me all right!" Loopy called back, "no long way fall, Flash come down!"

As Flash was about to climb down after Loopy, Butterfree flew to her. "Is he always like that?" Flash nodded. "Must be hard to keep an eye after him," she muttered in sympathy.

"Yeah," agreed Flash, "but he's strong, and… whoa, WHOAA!" she yelled as she, too, lost her footing, tumbling down to where the Machop had fallen. She landed on something soft, and it was a more muffled thud than the first one she had heard. "Hey, Loopy, where are you?" she called. Whatever she sat on moved, and she yelped in surprise.

"Flash be sit on me," he grumbled, throwing Flash off of him. He slowly stood up and rubbed his back, on which the Charmander had landed on.

"Sorry," she muttered, "but you have yourself to blame. You're too rash."

"Rash?" he asked in confusion.

Flash sighed as she was close to throwing a fit. "It's when you do things too fast without thinking of what bad can happen!" she snapped. "But, we should look for that Caterpie, mainly because those Pidgey will find him sooner or later… come on, Loopy." She beckoned him to follow.

"Me follow!" he exclaimed happily as he followed her. They walked through the dark, damp dungeon. Flash, who was in the lead, shuddered every now and then. "Flash scared?" he asked putting his hand on her shoulder.

"No, I'm not!" she quickly shot back, shrugging off his hand. "It's cold down here, and I don't like that. And besides, what if the ceiling crashes down on us?" She looked up at the ceiling worriedly, water droplets from the night's rain was dribbling down through the dirt ceiling.

Loopy gave Flash a slap on her back, but he was aware of his strength this time. "Then Flash be scared," he said with a laugh.

"Quit it!" she snapped, grumbling as she walked. She slowed down her pace as she looked around the dark cave. She suddenly stopped and stood completely still, and Loopy scratched his head in confusion. "Strange… Butterfree said she was attacked by hostile Pokémon, but I haven't seen any so far."

Loopy faked a laugh as he flexed his muscles. "Enemy be weak for me!" he burst out happily. Flash sighed and smacked her head.

"Let's just look for that damn Caterpie!" she barked, getting impatient. The last place she'd end up stuck in would be in a damp cave, so she wanted this mission to be done with as soon as possible.

"I'm afraid you won't find that little intruder…" a creepy voice said. Flash gasped as she looked around to see what had spoken. "…that intruder will soon be scarified to the great Groudon, and you will not… hey, HEY!" whatever yelled.

"Me found Catapi!" exclaimed Loopy as he held a red worm-like bug in his hand. He held it by its tail, making sure he didn't get stung by the needles. The worm Pokémon wiggled angrily, and its yellow underside could be seen. Its black compound eyes, which had a yellow ring around them, were glaring angrily at the smiling Machop.

"Let go of me, fool!" it screeched, stinging Loopy in his hand with the needle on its head.

"You moron, that's a Wurmple!" yelled Flash, worried as the Machop had been stung. Loopy threw the bug away, holding his hand afterwards. "Are you okay?" she proceeded to ask.

"Hand all right, no poison," he muttered. He glared at the Wurmple and snarled. "Non-Catapi will pay!"

"You…" the Wurmple hissed, "Get them!" it bellowed, which wasn't much of a bellow, since it was a bug. More Wurmple started to surround the Charmander and the Machop. They came from various directions, having hid in the darkness. Flash gulped as she edged closer to Loopy. "ATTACK!" it screeched.

Obeying the command, every Wurmple started to spray a white, sticky liquid at the two. A lot of the goo hit Flash and Loopy's chest respectively. They tried to scrape it off using their hands and paws, but it only made it worse. The Wurmple then aimed at their legs, tying them together. Flash and Loopy stood back to back, unable to do anything as the white goo was covering their legs, working its way up to their bodies.

The leader Wurmple crawled forward, avoiding the silk shots from the others. "Excellent, more sacrifice material for us," it said darkly, its compound eyes glistening with a red hue.

"I'll kill you, you worthless bugs!" Flash snarled, trying to break free from the hardening white goo. The Wurmple chuckled, looking deeply into her eyes.

"Really?" it asked, turning to its minions. "Silence her, please!" it ordered. Two of the attacking Wurmple aimed their attack right at her mouth, swiftly covering it with the goo.

"Loopy, help m-" was all she managed to cry out before her screams were muffled. Her arms were tightly bound to her body because of the silk, and so was Loopy's.

Loopy stared at the attacking Wurmple. "Let go," he said lowly. The Wurmple who talked to Flash swiftly crawled over to Loopy.

"You can't break yourself free, my dear Machop, give up."

Loopy smirked as he tensed his muscles, using all of his strength. He managed to pull out his hands, but the gooey stuff pulled them back onto his body. He tried again, only to fail.

"Flash," he groaned, panting heavily, "me sorry, me no strong." He tried to break free, and he was just almost successful. He tried over and over again, trying harder for every time. The Wurmple cackled at his attempts to break free.

The white goo was now up at their chests, slowly making progress to their heads. Flash realized what was about to happen. Those Wurmple were about to encase them with their String Shot attack, and then use them for sacrifice. She was about to panic, seeing as Loopy wasn't able to break free.

Loopy finally found it hopeless, tears were trickling down his cheeks, and he had given up. Flash was still panicking, but he kept crying.

"Aww," cooed Wurmple, "hopeless, isn't it? I guess you were weak then, lazy Machop!"

Loopy glared at the Wurmple with teary eyes, gritting his teeth. "Me will focus. Me will make last attempt!" he growled. He focused all of his power in his body, and was glowing faintly white. He felt strength and courage return in his body. He then made a last attempt to break free, making more progress than he had before. Wurmple kept cackling, finding the attempt foolish.

The white stuff that covered most of Loopy then cracked apart. Wurmple stopped cackling and widened its compound eyes in fear. Loopy's arms finally broke free, and he immediately used them to punch the bug with all his might. Wurmple was thrown back a distance, colliding with one of its companions.

Loopy used the time to rip off the hardened stuff around him, and then turned around to get the stuff off of Flash. "Me sorry, Flash, but me needs punch shell," he shortly said as he punched her chest hard, causing a crack to spread out in the white stuff that covered her. He then ripped it off her, taking away piece by piece.

The Wurmple who had been shooting the strings had stopped in fear when they watched the Machop tear away the white layer. The leader of them glared at the two Pokémon. "Don't just stand there, fools, stop him!" it barked.

Most of the Wurmple charged towards Loopy, preparing to knock him down. Loopy turned around, having a look of murder in his eyes. That look stopped some of the charging Pokémon, but those who were brave enough got a hard fist in their face.

After having knocked away three Wurmple, he ran up to the rest of them, kicking them hard with his Low Kick attack. They were sent flying onto the rock walls, and soon, it was only the leader of them left standing.

"You… you won't stop me!" the leader Wurmple growled, readying its tail for a Poison Sting. Flash tried to yell something at Loopy, but couldn't get the hardened stuff off her mouth. Loopy ignored that and charged towards the worm Pokémon. When he was in range, Wurmple shot forward with its tail to sting him, but Loopy was faster this time. He managed to grab the tail so the opposing Pokémon wouldn't be able to do anything.

"No-Catapi pay!" he roared as he slammed the worm Pokémon hard against the rock ground twice, finishing with a kick at its head, letting to of it. It fell down in a heap along with the others. He looked at the heap clenching his fists. He then got down on one knee, flexing his muscles in a happy way. "Me strong, no?" he burst out.

"Mmmh! Mmm-mmh!" cried Flash, unable to get the hardened silk off her mouth. Loopy glanced at her, and looked at himself. He saw some parts of his body still being covered with the hardened white stuff, so he scraped those fragments off. He walked up to her, looking at the hard silk that covered her mouth. He ripped it off in one pull.

"EEOOW!" she yelled, holding her sore mouth. "That hurt!" she then continued, slapping Loopy's cheek, but he wasn't fazed at all. He just scratched his head absentmindedly.

Flash looked at him, feeling sorry already. "Loopy, I'm sorry," she apologized as she scraped off some fragments from her body. "You really saved me… again. Thank you!" she burst out as she gave him a hug. Loopy looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Flash be welcome. Me learn to focus power!" he happily burst out. Flash just giggled at his excitement. "Flash battled no, must train!" he then told her. She frowned and pushed him away.

"But I couldn't do anything!" she protested, "I was still covered in that cocoon thingy! I was lucky they couldn't cover my tail though, the fire burned up the strings before they made contact."

"Ohh… my tiny li'l head…" someone whined. Loopy directly turned around and raised his fists.

"Want more?" he growled at the bug who had spoken, walking towards it slowly.

"No! No! I surrender!" the Wurmple wailed. It backed away weakly from the advancing Machop.

"What be surnder?" he asked, still glaring at the Wurmple as he kept advancing. He was right over it now, and raised a fist, but Flash managed to restrain him by grabbing his arm. "What Flash do? Evil No-Catapi trap us!"

"It meant that it is giving up!" she replied, holding Loopy's arm. She looked at Wurmple, "So you're surrendering, huh? Then tell me if Caterpie is all right!" she demanded. Wurmple nodded weakly. "Good, then take us to him, now!"

"O-of course… follow me," it lowly said, crawling away. Flash followed, and Loopy followed her.

* * *

"Look!" cried Loopy, "Light!" Flash looked at him, irritated.

"Yeah, and?"

"Another crack! Shorter up way!" he said, clapping his hands. Flash grumbled, not liking Loopy outsmarting her.

Wurmple interrupted the two. "I'm afraid there's a problem."

Flash turned to the bug, eyes wide. "What?" she snarled.

"Caterpie's over there, but there are two ways getting there. The first is where we go, through this hole." Wurmple nodded towards a small hole which it probably used to crawl in. "But that's to tiny for you, I'm afraid. You'll have to cross the dangerous grounds to get Caterpie." It pointed at a very big puddle of water that covered the way to where Caterpie was held captive.

"Why not bring him here?" Flash suggested, crossing her arms. Wurmple shook its head.

"The poor chap's paralyzed with fear. He only blabbers about his mommy all the time."

Loopy started to march towards where Caterpie was held. "Come, Flash!" he beckoned happily. "We get Catapi and then climb up!"

Flash ran after him, but he was already in the puddle, and when she stepped in the water, she yelped. "Loopy!"

He turned to see her shivering. "What wrong?" he asked. She gestured him to come up to her, and he did so.

"I can't walk out there, I hate water!" she burst out when he was in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Charmander, but there's no other way to the Caterpie. But I'll go to him and tell him that he's free, and that you're coming to get him. He may, or may not listen though," Wurmple told them. It started to crawl into the hole. "And by the way," its voice echoed through the hole, "be careful crossing the waters, there might be some holes."

Flash sighed, crossing her arms. "Okay… I'm stumped," she muttered to herself. Something suddenly grabbed her from behind. "What the? Hey!" she yelled as she looked behind her. It was Loopy who lifted her up. He put her on his shoulders.

"Me idea have!" he burst out with excitement. "Flash sit me, while me walk Catapi to!" he explained, keeping a firm grip on her legs.

"So you mean that you'll carry me on your shoulders, so both you and I can cross, right?" she inquired.

"Uh-huh!" replied Loopy with a nod. "Be still, all go well." He started to march towards where Caterpie was again, and Flash actually laughed with him.

"Yehaw!" she exclaimed, "Here we come!" She looked at the light that shone on the ground, and she saw a suspicious shadow. She immediately looked up at the sky. _"Did I…? Nah, I'm seeing things," _he thought.

Loopy walked to the big puddle, and splashed the water as he walked. Flash lightly smacked his head in cue of telling him to walk more carefully. He sighed and kept walking, taking more careful steps in case there would be any of these holes Wurmple told them about.

"Half left," he told her, keeping an eye on the water. It had been pretty shallow all the way, the water had barely been over Loopy's knee level. However, next step he took, he sank down more than he had before, and it bubbled as the foot sank. He stopped.

Flash started to breathe faster as this happened, and tried clinging onto Loopy harder. The Machop managed to pull out his foot without any problems though, but he didn't like the fact that his left leg was covered in mud.

"Flash, tight hold, or Flash fall off," he quietly, yet calmly warned. He backtracked a little and tried another approach.

Flash started to shiver as she hugged tighter. "I don't this is a good idea, Loopy," she stuttered.

"Mommy? You there?" a young voice cried out. Flash assumed that that was Caterpie, and so did Loopy.

"We're coming to get ya, Caterpie!" cried Flash, "on the behalf of Butterfree!" Caterpie seemed to chirp with joy as he heard this.

"Yay! I'm gonna see Mommy again, whee!" he chirped.

However, something swooped over Flash's head, and she looked up to see what it was. A Pidgey. She immediately knew what was coming.

"Caterpie, look out!" she warned, but it was too late. She heard a cry from the bug she and Loopy was supposed to rescue. Loopy started to run towards where Caterpie was, but forgot to think about the hazards. This time, both feet stuck in the bottom, but it wasn't as deep as the first time. The bubbling discouraged him though.

"Flash," he said quickly, "me have new idea!"

"Spare me your ideas, Loopy," muttered Flash, staring down at the water.

Loopy ignored her and continued. "Me throw you at birdie, okay?" Flash looked at him as if he was joking.

"You can't be serious!" she snapped. Loopy grabbed her legs and balanced them so she wouldn't trip. He then tossed powerfully at the Pidgey who supposedly had grabbed the Caterpie in its talons. "WAAaaah!" she screamed as she flew right at the bird, colliding with it.

The impact caused Pidgey to drop Caterpie, and they all landed on firm ground. Flash's landing wasn't rough; she landed on the Pidgey, and Caterpie landed on her. She quickly put down the bug on the ground and jumped to her feet.

Pidgey glared at her while slowly getting up. "You're that Charmander!" it burst out, spreading its small wings.

"I'll show you, fat bird!" retaliated Flash as she leaped towards the bird, scratching it powerfully. Pidgey backed away and flew away, escaping through the nearest fissure. "Heh, that was easy," she muttered.

She looked at Caterpie, who looked back at her. "My hero…" he whispered. "Is the Machop okay?" he then proceeded to ask

Flash gasped and realized that she had forgotten about Loopy. "Loopy!" she yelled, looking to where he was. She saw him chest deep in the water, slowly pulling himself away to the more shallow parts.

"Me okay, worry no!" he yelled back as he made his way to safer areas of the water.

Flash sighed in relief, but was still worried. "How will we get out of here?" she shouted. Loopy pointed at the opening right above him. "No, I mean, how will I get over this swamp?" Loopy didn't answer.

"Won't you help me get to Mommy?" asked Caterpie cautiously.

"Yes, I will, don't worry," assured Flash as she petted the bug a little. But she was worried herself; she couldn't get over this big puddle by herself, and Loopy would risk sinking too deep if he tried walking up to where she was. She started to shiver due to the thought that she'd have to live down here for the rest of her life.

She was interrupted in her thoughts when she heard flapping noises approach. She was certain that the Pidgey was coming back, but it wasn't alone this time.

A flock of birds swooped down through the opening, and it was led by a Pidgeotto. The bigger bird looked similar to her minions, but its feather were more coloured with red and yellow, and she had a red crest on her head.

"We finally meet again, Charmander," said Pidgeotto, landing in front of Flash. "And you brought us some food too. However, that is not enough for me to spare you, you'll pay for what you did to me that day!" She folded her wings while she stood on front of the scared Charmander, and her minions landed behind her.

"Leave the kid out of this!" Flash snarled. Pidgeotto cackled.

"You never cease to amuse me," she laughed, "But it's time we depart, you and I." With that, she spread out her wings and swiftly snatched Flash in her talons, flying away. One of the Pidgey grabbed Caterpie and followed the rest of them.

"Hey," called a Pidgey to his leader, "there's a Machop down there! Should we get him?" he suggested.

"Leave him," advised Pidgeotto simply, "It's better that way."

"MOOMMYYY!" wailed Caterpie as he was taken away.

And then they flew out of the cave via the opening. Loopy just stared. He was alone… again.

"Loopy never give up! Loopy get them!" he cried out with determination as he ran for the nearest rock wall, scaling it as quickly as he could.


	6. Mean Birdies!

_**Chapter VI: Mean Birdies!**_

Loopy was almost at the ledge. Thanks to his strength in his arms, he could climb very fast. But when he grabbed the ledge, he accidentally grabbed a loose part of the ground and almost fell down. Luckily, he managed to grab onto a rock protruding from the wall before he sled down too far.

"Me no give up!" he growled as he began to climb up again. This time he made it all the way up. He lay down on the grass, and panted slightly. He wondered where those birds had gone, as he had lost sight of them as soon as they had left through the fissure he recently came up from.

He sat up and looked around. He started to shiver. He was alone in the forest and he didn't know a way out. He mentally slapped himself and stood up, flexing his muscles.

"Me knock forest down if me have to!" he said to himself, grinning at the thought. Butterfree then appeared with a distressed look on her face.

"You found my baby?" she quickly asked, her wings flapping like mad. "Where's the Charmander?"

"We Catapi find…" Loopy started, scratching the back of his neck as he looked down in guilt. "But mean birdies take Flash and Catapi," he finished. Butterfree fell down on the ground, wailing.

"NOOOooo-ho-hooo! My baby! He's gone!" she cried, loud enough to make Loopy cover his ears, or wherever he heard things.

"Buttfree worry no!" growled Loopy as he clenched a fist. "Birdies take Catapi no long ago. Catapi alive still!" he assured. Butterfree slowly stood up and fluttered her wings.

"I am ButtERfree and my baby's a CatERpie!" she yelled before breaking into tears again.

"Where birdies? Me no give up!" He punched a fist into his other hand. "Me get Catep… Cate-erpie and Flash!" he told the crying Pokémon.

Butterfree got a hold of her senses and stopped crying. "I… I can show you where they have their nest… but be careful, they're many. I'll only show you the way, and you'll have to do the rest," she said lowly, sighing.

Loopy stared at first, and then blinked in confusion. "Be that yes?" he asked.

Butterfree grumbled before speaking. "Yes! Stop behaving like a fool!" she scolded. "Follow me."

* * *

Pidgeotto dropped her cargo on a plateau where her nest was. The rest of the Pidgey landed in various trees gathered around the plateau. Flash slowly got up on her feet, looking around herself. The plateau wasn't too high, so she wouldn't get badly hurt if she jumped down. But there was one major obstacle which prevented her from doing that.

Pidgeotto.

The bigger bird stood in front of her, appearing to be grinning.

"Now," the bird started, looking down at the Charmander scornfully, "with nothing to save you this time, you're mine."

"Oh yeah?" snapped Flash, her tail flame flaring up. "The Machop will come and help me out!"

Pidgeotto laughed a squawking laugh. "I see, you've found yourself a new bodyguard, hmm?" she inquired, "He won't find this place. It's just you, us and that little Caterpie who's history soon."

"You stay away from him, you creep!" Flash snarled. "Pick on someone your own size!"

Pidgeotto spread out her wings, glaring at Flash. "Like you, for instance?" she devilishly suggested. She quickly hopped forward and pinned Flash with her talons. "Keep the Caterpie alive until I'm finished with this lizard!" she commanded.

Flash struggled to break free, but Pidgeotto tightened her grip around her neck. Flash got desperate and tried to shoot an Ember at the bird. She inhaled and tried to spit out a fireball, but all that came out was white smoke.

Pidgeotto cackled. "Pathetic! You're miserable! How could you defeat me last time?" she asked, lowering her head so she was in front of Flash.

Flash tried to answer, but the bird tightened the grip even more, cutting off her air supply.

"You jumped me from behind! That's how!" She loosened the grip around Flash's throat and reared her head back, readying her beak to pinch the Charmander hard. She brought it down fiercely and struck Flash's chest, pinching it as hard as she could afterwards.

Flash screamed in pain, swatting the Pidgeotto with her paws. Pidgeotto cried as she let go of Flash. Enraged, the bird tossed away the Charmander and took flight, soaring over the Charmander.

Flash slowly got to her feet, clutching her aching chest. It was bleeding, but not much. She looked up at Pidgeotto.

"You're doomed," said the bird while she soared in a circle over Flash, waiting for an opportunity to attack.

Flash glared at the bird and let out of a roar, but all that came out was a young growl. Pidgeotto cackled.

"Cute…" With that, she dived at the Charmander, preparing to rake her with his talons. Flash barely dodged the attempt by rolling away, but she rolled too much, ending up at the plateau's ledge. She stopped dead and looked down.

"_Hmm, maybe it _is_ a little higher than I thought,"_ she thought, crawling away from the ledge. But she was suddenly struck on her back by Pidgeotto's sharp talons, and she was sent rolling towards another ledge. She staggered as she tried to stand up.

The bird fluttered her wings as she hovered triumphantly over the Charmander. "It's time for the finisher," she muttered as she began flapping her wings violently, creating a powerful gust.

Flash tried to fight against the powerful wind Pidgeotto whipped up, but she soon tripped and rolled off the plateau's ledge. She watched in horror as she fell towards the ground. _'Not much of a finisher…'_ she thought as she fell.

However, Pidgeotto suddenly appeared out of nowhere, ramming powerfully into Flash in a Quick Attack. Flash headed straight into the rock wall, and slowly sled down like a bug on a windshield. When she touched the ground, she slumped onto her stomach, breathing weakly.

Pidgeotto landed in front of her. "The tail's still burning… persistent little Charmander, they're all the same," she mused. Flash tried to stand up, but this time she was in too much pain. She felt Pidgeotto's left foot kick her over so she was lying on her back. The bird looked down at her. "So-" She was interrupted by one of the Pidgey.

"Leader! There's an intruder who's attacking our forces!" it informed. Pidgeotto looked at the smaller bird, sighing.

"Is the intruder by any means a Machop?" she asked. Pidgey nodded. Pidgeotto looked at Flash, and then at Pidgey again. "Pull back our forces. Make it look like you're retreating."

The Pidgey was about to protest. "But-"

"Just do it!" snapped the leader bird. Pidgey looked down and took off. Pidgeotto looked at the other Pidgey. "The rest of you, get in position for ambush. We'll give that Machop a welcome he won't forget!" All of the Pidgey flew up and hid in the foliage of the trees.

Flash made another attempt of getting to her feet, but was pushed down by the bird's talon.

"You stay where you are, Charmander," she hissed. "So, you have started a cute little rescue team with that Machop friend of yours?" she then asked, lightly scratching Flash's chest with her talons.

"N-no…" replied Flash weakly.

"Really?" Pidgeotto grabbed Flash with her talon, tightening the grip slowly. "Then what was your errand in that cave?"

"Burn… in hell… you worthless… bird," coughed Flash. Pidgeotto lifted her talon and held it close to Flash's eye.

"Still the rude one? How rude will you be after one eye is gone, hmm?" She waved a claw over Flash's eye. "However," she then said, placing her talon on Flash's chest, "you will remain quiet while your friend arrives. We don't want you to warn him of my little scheme, do we?"

They both sat there, waiting for Loopy to come. It was dead silent, until some rustles were heard from some bushes. It was Loopy. He was a little bruised, but he was as energetic as ever.

"Mean bird!" he shouted, pointing at Pidgeotto. "Let go Flash!" he then demanded.

Pidgeotto pretended to look surprised. "Ah, my dear Machop, so you managed to hold off my troops?" she inquired. Loopy nodded, punching the air threateningly.

"Troop of mean bird be weak! Me angry when mean bird no Flash let go!" he burst out, shaking his fist at the bird, who cackled.

"Having speech impediments? I would like to see you mad," teased Pidgeotto, waiting patiently.

"L-Loopy! It's… Ack!" cried Flash before her air supply was cut off by Pidgeotto's tightening talon.

"LET FLASH GO!" roared Loopy finally, raising his fists. "AND WHERE BE CATE..CATAP…" He roared even louder this time. "WHERE BE CATE-ERPIE?" he once again roared. The roar almost echoed through the forest. He was panting after the screaming, looking fiercely into Pidgeotto's eyes.

The bird slowly shook her head. "Come get him then." She lowly said. That did it, Loopy glared at her ferociously and charged towards the bird. "…fool… Get him!" she screeched.

Loopy came to a halt when the hiding Pidgey revealed themselves. They came from all directions, surrounding Loopy in an instant. He punched one away, and backhanded another. He barely managed to kick a third, but was struck down by the forth which had come from above. He was knocked down as well as weighted down by the many Pidgey which attacked him.

"Argh! Me… no… give… up!" Loopy forced out, trying to fend off the attacking Pidgey. More and more Pidgey ganged up on him, scratching him with their talons and pinching him with their beaks. He shielded his face in a last attempt of defence, and realized that he was outnumbered.

"Fool!" repeated Pidgeotto, "coming into our territory like that… it's more than right that you pay your penalty… EOOW!" she screamed when Flash bit down on her toe. Flash had regained a little strength during this time, and accounting with that Pidgeotto had loosened her grip while she watched Loopy being tormented, Flash had grabbed the opportunity and bit down hard.

Nevertheless, the bite was hard enough for the bigger bird to let go of Flash, and upon doing that, the Charmander swiftly crawled to a safe distance. She then slowly got on her feet.

"You filthy lizard!" snarled Pidgeotto, now standing at one foot, since the other was in too much pain. Flash ignored her and ran for Loopy, scratching with her claws at the nearest Pidgey.

"Flash!" Loopy cried, shielding himself for all he was worth.

"Hang on!" screamed Flash as she scratched yet another Pidgey, but now they started o gang up on her. Some of them kicked sand in her eyes, blinding her temporarily. Instantly after that, she was knocked down from behind by more Pidgey.

This gave Loopy a chance of getting up, since most of the Pidgey which pinned him down went for Flash. He managed to throw a punch at one which was scratching his chest fiercely, and then grabbed another by its neck, tossing it away. He quickly scrambled to his feet and spotted Caterpie in a hollow tree.

He dashed towards the tree, and grabbed Caterpie. When he turned around, he saw two Pidgey flying towards him. He swiftly ducked and ran towards Flash, who was pinned down and being scratched by the talons of the Pidgey. He ran towards the birds, with Caterpie under his right arm.

"Catepie, be close," he told the bug. Caterpie shuddered and tried everything to stay on the Machop.

Tightening his grip around the bug, he used his left arm to punch away a Pidgey from Flash, and then utilized a Low Kick attack to kick away another one. He then reached down and grabbed a hold of her arm, pulling her up from the birds. He positioned her so she was leaning on his shoulder, while still holding the bug under his arm.

"Flash okay?" he asked, panting heavily. She weakly nodded. They were both very bruised, and bled from their chests. Loopy even found it hard to stand tall with Flash weighing him down.

The Pidgey gathered in a half circle around the three, and Pidgeotto was flying above them. "Such an energetic little Fighting Pokémon you are!" she snarled, glaring at Loopy. "I will _personally_ take care of you, once and for all!" she added. Loopy returned the glare and carefully put down the two Pokémon. He raised his fists, keeping his glare at the Pidgeotto.

She screeched and dived towards him, just wanting to rip his throat out with her talons. Loopy answered her action by running towards her, and jumped up with his fist outstretched. Pidgeotto didn't see this coming and tried to stop her attack, but it was too late, Loopy landed a punch right at her throat instead, and that caused a knockout for her.

He landed gracefully on his feet, and ran back to Flash and Caterpie, picking them up. All the Pidgey stared at him with fear, as he had knocked down their leader with one single blow. After Loopy had picked them up, he ran.


	7. Go Flash house to!

_**Chapter VII: Go Flash house to!**_

Loopy carefully dropped Flash and Caterpie to the grassy ground after that he had run away from the Pidgey flock. The birds hadn't followed, thanks to him having knocked out their leader in one single blow. He sat down, panting heavily. Caterpie hadn't suffered any form of violence, thankfully, but Flash and he had, as they were both bleeding a little.

"Be Flash okay?" he asked, panting in between his breaths. Flash was unconscious, which resulted her not answering. She was lying motionlessly on her side. Loopy laughed a bit and prodded her.

"Flash okay?" he asked, prodding again. She didn't respond. He gasped at that. He grabbed the Charmander and shook her violently, trying to wake her up. "Flash! No… no… NO!" he wailed, tears flowing down.

Caterpie slowly crept up to him, nuzzling his side.

"Um… M… Machop," the bug started, stuttering nervously. Loopy looked at him with teary eyes. "The tail is still burning, so she's alright," he assured. Loopy forced a smile, and petted Caterpie on his head, and then did the same on the unconscious Flash.

"You're awesome!" Caterpie burst out happily, earning a smile from Loopy.

"Me strong!" he boasted, letting Flash go so he could flex his muscles. Caterpie laughed.

"You showed those Pidgey," commended Caterpie, resting against Loopy's side. Soon after that, Butterfree arrived. "Mommy!" Caterpie cried, waddling over to his mother.

"My baby!" she cried back, landing in front of her son and used her wings to hug him. They both cried in happiness during the reunion. "You're safe!" she then added.

Loopy glanced at them and then looked at Flash. She was still unconscious. He tried to shake her to life, but Butterfree flew up to him.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Machop?" she asked him, he ignored her. "I said, is… oh…" She looked at the unconscious Charmander. She flew over to the Charmander and checked her injuries. "She'll be okay, Machop." He finally looked at her, and rubbed his stomach.

"Me hungry…" he muttered. Butterfree chirped.

"Then follow me! I know a great tree where plenty of apples grow." Butterfree motioned Loopy to follow, and he picked up Flash, carrying her with him.

* * *

They arrived to a tree with many delicious looking, fresh, red apples hanging on the various branches. Loopy carefully put Flash down on the ground, and was somewhat relieved when he heard her breathing weakly.

"Flash, much apples, look!" he said hopefully, hoping that it would wake the Charmander up. She stayed unconscious.

Butterfree looked at her worriedly. "The tail flame seems weaker… let her lie down, and I'll get something as a thanks for saving my baby. Wait here!" she said as she darted away with Caterpie to get something to help Flash.

Loopy looked at Flash, and then at the tree. He hadn't quite registered what Butterfree had said, but he registered enough to know that he should let Flash lie down. He looked up at a fine red apple that was hanging on a branch. He started to climb up the tree and reached for the apple.

When he couldn't reach it, he jumped from his position and managed to grab the apple. Unfortunately, he was holding the apple with both hands, and that caused him to fall helplessly to the ground.

_**THUD!**_

He landed hard on his back, still clutching the apple.

"Ouch… apple be safe!" He laughed, sat up, and bit down on the apple. He chewed it happily, and swallowed a small piece. He took another bite of the apple and proceeded to chew it.

Soon the apple was reduced to a mere core, and Loopy threw it away carelessly over his shoulder. He looked up at the tree and went for another apple, hopefully with more success this time.

After his fourth apple he patted his stomach, most of his wounds had been healed thanks to them. He looked curiously up at the tree again, wondering if he should go for a fifth apple. He decided to get another apple, and climbed up the tree.

"I'm here again!" Butterfree cried out as she arrived. Loopy got surprised and fell down form the tree, landing on his rear end this time, and rolled over twice. "Oh… sorry, didn't mean to scare you," she apologised. Loopy rubbed his head a little.

"No worry. Happen much…" he muttered.

"Anyway, I believe this seed will help Flash to regain her senses. This is a Reviver Seed." She showed him a faintly white glowing seed. She put it on Flash's head and she began glowing as well. When the glowing stopped, the seed became an original seed.

Flash slowly opened her eyes and sat up, rubbing her head.

"Aww… man, what a headache…" she groaned.

"Flash live!" Loopy cried, rushing towards Flash with open arms.

"No, no! No hugs!" she managed to yell. Loopy stopped dead in his tracks.

"Me will not," he just said. He once again walked up to the nearest tree and climbed up, getting an apple in the progress. "Want apple?" he asked her, smiling. She nodded, and he promptly climbed down, handing her the apple.

"Thanks…" she muttered, still dizzy. She bit down on the apple and chewed it, looking at Loopy who smiled at her.

"Good Flash be well," he laughed, patting her lightly on her back.

Flash finished her apple and threw away the core. She sighed afterwards, rubbing her stomach.

"I'm full…" she muttered. Loopy guffawed.

"Already?" He poked her stomach. "Flash eat little!" He quickly ran to the tree, avoiding a claw swipe from Flash, and climbed up for another apple. He snatched another apple and ran up to the Charmander, stuffing the apple in her mouth.

"Mmrrph!" she cried, muffled due to the apple stuffed into her mouth. She managed to pull it out shortly and tossed it at Loopy. He just laughed and caught the apple. Flash rushed up to Loopy to scratch him, but was stopped by a laugh from Butterfree.

"You two are a riot!" she said in between of her laughs. Caterpie laughed along.

Flash stared at Butterfree, standing with her right paw raised to scratch at Loopy. The Machop stared as well.

"What be riot?" he asked, which only caused Butterfree and Caterpie to laugh more. Flash lowered her paw, sighing, and Loopy then caught her in a hug. She got angry and tried kicking her legs at him, but he held tight.

"Gah, Loopy! I told you… no hugs!" she coughed. Loopy promptly dropped her on the ground. She snarled at him before getting up, brushing off herself. "Anyway… Butterfree, what's the, eh, reward for getting Caterpie back to you?" she asked the Pokémon.

Butterfree rolled her eyes (or at least it appeared so, since she had compound eyes), "You did get that Reviver Seed, but I could give you some Oran Berries as well."

"Oran Berries?" she exclaimed happily, "Gimme, gimme, gimme!" Butterfree tossed two bluish berries to the Charmander, who promptly put one of them in her mouth. "Ahh, an Oran Berry a day keeps the Chansey away!" she burst out, swallowing the berry.

"I hope you're going to share the other berry with that Machop, or you're just keeping the reward for yourself, Charmander," Butterfree sternly said. "He seems out of place, though." She watched him climb up the tree… again, grabbing another apple.

"Yeah… I'm going into town soon, so I'll see if someone there knows who he is." She looked over her shoulder, hearing something. "You know, my Spearow friends are headed this way, so I guess you need to leave. But don't worry, they're nice fellows," she told her. Butterfree nodded, and signalled Caterpie that they had to leave.

"I hope we meet again, Charmander!" Caterpie chirped as he followed his mother.

"You bet, kiddo!" she replied.

Soon after that, the Spearow flock arrived. The leader landed in front of her, folding her wings, while the rest of them perched on the branches around them.

"So," Flash started, looking up at the bird, "is it safe?"

"No one's there," replied Spearow promptly. "It's completely deserted, judging by the looks." She chuckled. "But I'd say it's safe, yes."

Flash looked at her Oran Berry, and then at Spearow. "Well, this is all I have," she muttered awkwardly, holding her berry in front of Spearow.

The bird cackled. "Don't worry, we agreed to do it for free this time." She then stared intensively at Flash. "But this _is _the last time we do it, do you understand?" she cleared up. Flash nodded. "Good," said Spearow as she suddenly took off, her flock following her.

Flash sighed, and wondered where Loopy had gone. He was sitting on a branch, eating his fifth apple. She knew that it'd be a waste to give him the berry, so she kept it for herself.

"Hey, Loopy!" she called. The Machop looked down at her, throwing the core over his shoulder. "Let's go to my place, we can sleep and train there, and maybe you might meet someone you know there!" she suggested. Loopy laughed and jumped down from the branch, landing hard on his feet.

"Fun!" he cried happily.

"Then let's go!" They started walking out of the forest, heading for Flash's house.

* * *

They arrived to what looked like a shack, overgrown with various vines. There was also a mailbox. The shack itself was mostly made of rocks placed on top of each other, and the wooden roof was broken. The entrance was the only thing not broken, as it was just a hole in the rocks.

"Well, this is my home, Loopy," she declared. "Or, well, my hangout more likely."

Loopy stared at the place blankly, blinking twice. "Look fallen," he just said, scratching his head. Flash snarled.

"So what? It was an abandoned rescue team base, so I settled down here. And by the way, it's dry inside!" she snapped. Loopy tilted his head in confusion, not having registered what she said. "Let's just go in, eh?" she suggested, tugging Loopy's arm.

They walked inside the shack. If it hadn't been for the two light sources, the entrance and the hole in the ceiling, it would've been completely dark. There was a pile of hay in a corner, which was Flash's bed, and it was located under the remaining parts of the ceiling, so she was safe from raindrops in case it rained.

"House small," noted Loopy, looking around himself. Flash sighed.

"Really? I never noticed that…" she sarcastically replied. The Machop put his hands on his hips proudly.

"Me notice," he said.

Flash rolled her eyes, "Anyway, until you find someone you know around here, you sleep over there." She pointed at the other corner, which was damper than her corner.

"Be okay!"

"Good!" said Flash, "then let's go outside. You probably want to train, don't you?" she inquired.

"Yes. Train be must! Flash train too!" he exclaimed as he rushed outside.

"_So energetic,"_ she thought as she followed.

"Hello!" he greeted. But Flash knew it wasn't her he was greeting, he was greeting someone else. But she had already walked outside and spotted a large ca Pokémon with a red jewel on its forehead.

The Persian hissed at her, and Loopy just looked at it. Flash quickly turned around to hide inside, but ran right into a familiar brown Pokémon.

"Ah-HAH!" boomed Kangaskhan, quickly grabbing the Charmander. "I, and Persian, figured that you and that pesky Machop friend of yours would return here sooner or later. You will now face justice when-"

Kangaskhan was interrupted during her speech by a yowling from Persian. Loopy had punched the cat Pokémon and was now angry.

"Mean cat scare Flash. Shoo!" he growled. Persian quickly retaliated and pounced on him. Loopy wasn't quick enough to dodge, and was knocked down. The cat Pokémon put one of her claws close to his throat, warning him.

"No hasty movements now," she hissed. Loopy just glared at her, showing no signs of fear.

"Nevertheless," continued Kangaskhan, "you two are coming with us, we have an economical problem which needs to be solved as soon as possible," she explained. Her black eye Loopy had given her was still there. She held Flash tightly in her right claw, and walked over to Loopy, picking him up as well.

They then proceeded towards the town.


	8. Team Rescue?

_**Chapter VIII: Team Rescue?**_

Flash and Loopy were inside Kangaskhan's storage, or more like the storage room. The cream coloured cat Pokémon, Persian, was guarding the single door which was the only way out, and Kangaskhan kept a keen eye on the two younger Pokémon. It was pretty dark inside, as the only light source was a small window.

"What be-" asked Loopy, scratching his head. Flash cut him off, however.

"No way. I am _not_ starting a rescue team!" she protested, stomping on the floor.

Kangaskhan rolled her eyes, sighing. "Well, you don't have any merits besides fighting, if that is a merit of yours, the only way for you to make any money to repay the missing items is to start a rescue team," she calmly replied. Flash growled lightly, and looked down.

"I don't want to!" snapped Flash.

Kangaskhan sighed again, shaking her head. "Aside from your urge to steal, you really do remind me of your father," she lowly said.

Flash glared at her. "Shut up, you bag of fat!" she snarled.

Kangaskhan responded with a roar as she took a step forward. Flash cowered while Loopy stepped in front of her.

"No harm Flash!" he cried out. Kangaskhan quickly swatted him away.

"That was for my eye," she snarled, turning her attention towards Flash again. "Now, you don't talk to me in that way, and I would really appreciate if you showed some respect at all."

Flash scoffed, turning away and crossing her arms. Kangaskhan promptly grabbed Flash's head and forced her to look at her. "Listen here, little Charmander, you are not refusing this! You have been nothing but bad business for me, and now you are going to pay for all the damages you've caused!" she bellowed.

"In hard cash or items!" added Persian with a purr.

Kangaskhan loosened her grip on Flash's face, smiling faintly. "It's the best solution, and you have a strong team mate." She looked at Loopy, who rubbed his cheek after the blow he had received. He glared at her, walking towards her. "What do you think of the idea, dear Machop?" she softly asked him. He scratched his head in confusion.

"What idea?" he asked, smiling goofily afterwards.

Kangaskhan dropped Flash in surprise, gawking at Loopy. "You haven't been listening, have you?"

"Me forget," said Loopy happily, grinning.

"I suggested that Charmander and you should form a rescue team," Kangaskhan shortly explained.

Loopy's face lit up in realization. "Ah, but… what be team rescue?" he then asked.

"I'll explain that to him later," said Flash, stepping in front of Loopy. Kangaskhan nodded, understanding.

"Very well, he'll surely like the idea."

"Be much fight when team rescue?" asked Loopy, flexing his muscles and boxing thin air afterwards.

"Why, yes," replied the brown Pokémon, nodding.

"Fun!" exclaimed Loopy clapping his hands happily.

"Okay then," started Kangaskhan, turning to Flash, "I'll give you the signup papers as we leave this storage, and you will send them to the local Board of Rescue Teams today!"

"…I understand…" muttered Flash.

"Good!" chirped Kangaskhan as she started rubbing her claws.

The two young Pokémon were led out of the storage, and Flash received a couple of papers. They then walked out of the storage.

The town was quite rural like, as it had just a few buildings not too close to each other, and none of them were particularly high either. Most of the local townspeople recognized Flash as she exited the storage, glancing at her in disgust. She ignored it and kept walking with Loopy to her house.

"What do you think she stole this time?" Flash heard one whisper to another. She did the usual and ignored it. Loopy didn't hear it though, he happily looked around himself.

They soon reached her home, and Loopy ran ahead and sat down by the door. Flash just stomped inside her house, putting the papers down on the single table inside. Loopy curiously peeked inside.

"What be team rescue, Flash?" he asked.

She sighed, and walked outside.

"Well, a rescue team is a group of Pokémon that helps out civilian Pokémon in need. It has been around for a couple of months, since the weird events started." Loopy nodded. "Most of the time there are needs for escorting various Pokémon, and then there is what we did to Caterpie."

"That fun!" exclaimed Loopy, raising his hands, "but no fun when mean bird attack!" He punched a fist into his other palm in anger.

"Don't worry, Loopy, the Spearow will keep them busy. But I hope they can hold them off long enough. But don't worry about that, let's go inside and fill out the papers so it's done," she suggested, going inside. Loopy followed.

Flash went through the papers, and found the signing one and started filling in the blanks with a feather dipped in ink. Loopy curiously looked on.

"Loopy, what should the name of our team be?" she asked him. "The names usually start with 'Team …' like, Team Shiftry for example," she added. He scratched his head, and then smiled.

"Team Me!" he exclaimed. Flash smacked her forehead.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind," she muttered.

"Team… uh… Flash?" he then hopefully suggested. Flash smirked.

"Well, since I did vote myself for the leader, it'd be fitting in a way, but it's too uncreative." There was more than that actually; she didn't want to have the team name called after her. The thought alone made her angry, but she didn't show it.

"Me know fine name! Team Young!"

Flash considered it for a while, but then shook her head. "Nah, it sounds we're too inexperienced, but I came up with a name. Team Brawl, you're pretty strong, and I have to rely on my claws until I learn how to breathe fire."

"Sound fine," agreed Loopy. "But me fight much, and me stronger than Flash be, why Flash leader?" he then proceeded to ask.

"Well, uh, no offence, but you're not really bright. So I figured it'd be best if I did the talking, and you the fighting," she told him. Loopy shrugged, accepting what she told him. She finished filling the blanks and wrote her name on the lower right corner of the last paper, and then handed the feather to Loopy. "Just write your name at the bottom, and it's done."

Loopy nodded and positioned the tip of the feather next to where Flash had written, but stopped.

"Me no know write," he said awkwardly. Flash grinned.

"Here, let me do it for you." she took the pen and write Loopy's name next to her name. She then put the feather in the bottle of ink. "…oops…" she whispered, but Loopy heard her.

"What wrong?"

"That was Kangaskhan's feather and ink… Crap! I did it again, Kangaskhan's going to kill me!" she whined. Loopy laughed.

"Worry no, give ink to Kashkhan, and she happy," he suggested, patting her back.

"No! I can't do that! She'll just yell at me!" she protested. Loopy grabbed her by the neck at that.

"Me no want Flash be bad! Why Flash act thiefy?" he growled, keeping a tight grip. Flash yelped as she tried to break free.

"But I hate it when they look at me as if I was some thief, I just don't want them to know!" she yelled. Loopy let go of her, scratching his head.

"Me confused," he groaned, holding his head as if having a headache.

Flash rubbed the back of her neck, and then stood tall. "You know what? Let's go to the post office so we can post these papers right away."

She walked out, and Loopy followed behind. Flash's house was by the outskirts of town, so there was a distance for them to walk. She looked up at the sky, there were a few thin grey clouds, and the sun was beginning to set.

"You like walking much?" she suddenly asked Loopy.

"Be light training, but walk train stamina. But little," he replied, shrugging.

Flash rolled her eyes, _"Fighting Pokémon…"_ she thought, grinning afterwards.

* * *

They arrived at a building which was located in the centre of the town and was slightly bigger than Kangaskhan's storage and had a banner which read:

_Pelipper's Post Office_

They went inside, only to find the building quite empty of Pokémon. It was pretty late, and even though it hadn't closed yet, most Pokémon were already done with their errands for the day. Flash walked up to the counter, where a clown like Pokémon with big hands, Mr Mime, stood. She smiled; Mr Mime was one of the few Pokémon in the town who didn't have anything against her.

"I'd like to send these to the Board of Rescue Teams," she requested. Mr Mime smiled and grabbed the letter (of which Flash had put the papers in a while ago) placed it nicely on a pile of letters which would be delivered to the same destination. "I can pay with this Oran Berry, if that's okay," she offered, holding up a familiar bluish berry.

"That'll do, but that's between you and me, alright?" he responded, snatching the berry. He then patted her head, giving her an encouraging smile. "It's nice that you finally decided to do something good, starting a rescue team and all."

Flash smirked. "Yeah, but I'm forced to do it, you know, I owe Kangaskhan a big deal of Poké, so I'll probably only be doing this rescue team thing until the debt is paid," she countered.

"Do as you wish, Flash, you might find it exciting. You might be as good as your-"

Flash cut him off. "Don't," she warned, turning serious.

Mr Mime's smile faltered a bit. "Oh, sorry about that, I forgot," he apologized.

"Meh, it's okay."

Mr Mime smiled happily again, "So who will you do this with?" he asked.

"I'll do it with Loopy, the Machop over there." She pointed with her claw over her shoulder, where Loopy presumably was. "He's a little odd, you know. He speaks funny, and I don't know his whereabouts."

"Which Machop?" inquired Mr Mime. Flash stared at him as if he was an idiot and turned around to point at Loopy. Unfortunately, he wasn't there.

"Oh crap! Look, I gotta go find him before he winds up in any trouble, so bye!" she quickly said as she ran out of the post office.

But as soon as she was outside, she felt that she was holding something in her hand. She sighed when she saw what it was. The Oran Berry she gave to Mr Mime. She quickly ran inside again and tossed it to him, and then dashed outside again.

"_Stupid Loopy!"_ she angrily thought while walking around the town, meeting scorning stares from most of the Pokémon she passed, _"where the hell has he walked off to?"_ She thought of the ink and feared that Loopy had snuck away to Kangaskhan's storage to give it back. He'd be in for a beating.

She ran as fast as she could to the storage, and when she arrived, she peeked inside the window. She saw Loopy showing Kangaskhan the bottle of ink, and Kangaskhan widening her eyes in anger. She slammed both of her brown paws on the counter, yelling at Loopy. The Machop tried explaining, but Kangaskhan picked him up and walked towards the door.

Flash figured that it would be best if she hid around the corner so the brown Pokémon would spot her. She heard the door being opened followed up with a thud, coming from Loopy as he landed on the ground after being literally thrown out.

"AND DON'T THINK ABOUT COMING HERE UNTIL THE DEBT IS PAID!" Kangaskhan roared at Loopy before powerfully slamming the door shut.

Flash slowly peeked out of the corner to see Loopy sitting on the ground, rubbing his head. "Told you so!" she exclaimed, walking up to him. He jumped to his feet, brushing some of the dust off him.

"Me show mean Kashkhan!" he snarled, walking towards the door. Flash jumped in front of him.

"No, no, no. Don't do that, let's go home," she suggested. Loopy grunted and grabbed Flash, lifting her up. He turned around and put her down, and then walked to the door. He opened it, facing a glaring Kangaskhan who already was behind the counter, and lifted the door out of its hinges. He then threw it down on the floor with all his might and blew a raspberry at Kangaskhan.

The manager of the storage just stared at him blankly. The stare lasted for a half minute, and after that she snapped, _jumping_ over the counter and charged at Loopy.

"Hmm, must go. Bye!" he chirped as he picked up Flash, carrying her over his shoulder, and ran as fast as he could. Kangaskhan stopped running, knowing that it'd be irresponsible to leave the storage like this.

* * *

It was darker when Loopy arrived at Flash's house. He put her down and sat down, catching his breath.

"That be fun!" he said, panting heavily.

"Well, I guess we're officially banned from her storage for a lifetime or two." Loopy laughed. "Loopy, are you out of your mind?" she yelled at him. "You don't do such things, it's not nice!" she scolded. Loopy looked down.

"Kashkhan be mean. Me tried be nice," he muttered.

Flash settled down, patting Loopy's back, "Well, the look on her face when you smashed the door was priceless, though," she said in comfort. He grinned a little. "Let's go to sleep, it's getting dark.

They walked inside her house and Flash lied down on her pile of hay, carefully making her tail fire smaller as she lied down, and Loopy tried making a bed at his corner of the house.

Flash got up and tossed some hay to him. He smiled and tried building his own bed with little success, but he was satisfied with his accomplishment. He lay down and quickly fell asleep with his right thumb in his mouth.

Flash cooed lightly at the sight, and realized that she had a piece of cloth at another corner of the room. She picked it up and tucked Loopy in. She then walked to her bed, curling up in it before she fell asleep.


	9. Preparations, eh?

A/N: And now, it is Flash's turn to announce the chapters!

_**Chapter IX: Preparations, eh?**_

The rays of the morning sun shone through the only window inside Flash's home. The rays hit her closed eyes and it caused her to wake up. She groggily sat up on her pile of hay which was her bed and rubbed her eyes. She turned her tired eyes to see if Loopy was still asleep, but he wasn't there.

As if on cue, Loopy stepped through the doorway from outside with a huge smile.

"Beautiful morning it be today!" he burst out, scaring Flash enough so that she jumped off her bed and fell flat on her face. She quickly got up and faced the laughing Loopy.

"Don't do that!" she shouted, rubbing her nose. Loopy stopped laughing, but kept smiling.

"Flash be lazy," he said with a shrug, "come now, train!" he then eagerly suggested as he walked up to Flash and grabbed her arm, dragging her outside. Flash resisted at first but found it pointless to struggle against the stronger Pokémon.

When outside, Loopy let go of Flash's arm and walked up to a boulder, roughly a third his size, and picked it up with one hand, holding it straight over his head proudly. He looked at Flash, who immediately backed away.

"No, no, no, Loopy. You know I can't lift that, don't toss it at me!" she begged, ready to jump out of the way. Loopy grinned and bent down, picking up a pebble with his other hand.

"Flash start train from beginning," he told her as he tossed the pebble to Flash. She caught it without any effort and stared at it, dumbfounded.

"What?" she just asked, still staring at the pebble. "You mean I'm going to train with this tiny little stone?" Loopy nodded, having started to heave the boulder up and down with his arm, grinning. Aggravated, Flash threw the pebble right at Loopy's head. It just bounced off and he kept grinning.

"Maybe Flash want bigger stone?" he suggested, not taking his grin off his face. Flash stomped up to him and snarled. He just responded with a pat on her head with his free hand.

"I swear, Loopy, there are times I wish I was an Electrode so I could blow up right in your face!" she growled, her arms trembling in fury as Loopy patted her head. He then snickered and pinched her cheek.

"Flash cute when angry," he said, now balancing the boulder on two of his fingers.

Flash slapped Loopy's hand away as she growled really loud. "That does it! Stop making fun of me!" she snarled as she inhaled deeply, trying to spit out an Ember at Loopy. But as usual, a puff of white smoke emerged from her mouth, except that this puff of smoke was bigger and a little hotter than usual.

Since Loopy was laughing, he inhaled most of the hot smoke. He started to cough repeatedly. He used both of his hands to cover his mouth as he was coughing, but he forgot about the boulder, which fell down right on top of him with a crash.

"Loopy!" Flash cried, worried that he could've suffered any serious injuries. She saw him lying on his back with the boulder on his chest. He smiled and gave thumbs up, to show that he was all right. She sighed first, but then swiftly jumped on top of the boulder, looking down at him gloatingly.

"Hah!" she burst out, "I win!" She flexed her arms proudly. _"Jeez, you're bad influence, Loopy,"_ she though awkwardly afterwards.

"Flash good smoke breath has," stated Loopy with a cough, "But Flash need more train!" he then declared as he pushed the boulder off him with ease. Flash yelped as she fell off the boulder and crawled away as fast as she could to avoid getting crushed. Loopy stood up freely and brushed the dirt off of him, and then picked up the boulder again. He then held it with one hand, but tossed it and caught it with the other. He repeated this action for a while.

Flash got up as well and stared at Loopy. She shrugged. _"Fighting Pokémon…"_ she thought. But she started to feel worried when she watched Loopy's game. "Hey, isn't that enough?" He stopped tossing the boulder, looking at her. "I mean, it looks kinda risky," she added.

Loopy sighed and tossed the boulder carelessly over his shoulder. Flash yelped again, fearing that the projectile could hit something, or worse, someone. Luckily, it crashed down next to the mailbox.

"Loopy!" she scolded, waving her left claw towards his face. "You could've smashed the mailbox to pieces!" Loopy put his hands behind his back and looked down sadly. She sighed and poked his stomach with her claws lightly. He flinched.

"No touch!" he quickly said. Flash grinned.

"What, a little ticklish?" she asked as Loopy took a few steps back. Flash followed, claws ready. She cracked a wide grin and pounced at Loopy, scratching him lightly on his belly. Loopy couldn't take it and fell down on the ground, trying to cover most of his belly from Flash's tickling claws.

"Flash!" he shouted in between his laughing fits, "stop!" He managed to grab a hold of Flash and lightly tossed her away. But Flash quickly got up again, running towards Loopy who turned around to run.

"Not until you give up, Loopy!" she playfully replied as she once again pounced at him. She managed to push him down face first and started tickling his sides. Loopy was helpless and kicked with his legs to get the Charmander off him. But Flash's constant tickling in his weak spots prevented him from getting up.

"Me give up!" he then shouted in mercy. Flash stopped tickling, but remained on his back.

"Better not trick me," warned Flash as she poked him on his side, causing him to flinch once. She chuckled, "Heh, this sure is fun training," she said as she got off Loopy.

The Machop got up himself and stuck out his tongue at Flash. She raised both her arms while cracking a mischievous grin which caused him to back off. Loopy crossed his arms in defeat, grumbling.

"No real train, Flash, only play," he muttered. Flash shrugged.

"At least I knocked you down, so I guess I'll call that my kind of training," she retaliated. Loopy rolled his eyes.

Flash looked over at the mailbox and noticed that the flag was up, indicating that someone had put in some mail in it. She curiously paced towards it.

"I wonder who'd send mail to me?" she wondered out loud.

"Mailbag?" suggested Loopy, following right after her. Flash smiled and sighed. She examined the box and opened it to find a rather thick letter. It was labelled BRT.

"_Oh yeah, the Board of Rescue Teams,"_ she thought. She slammed the lid shut and walked towards the shack. But before she opened the letter she heard someone from behind open the mailbox. She looked over her shoulder to see who.

"Mailbag? Hello?" said Loopy as he knocked on the metal box a few times. He sighed and slammed it shut as well. But he did it a little too hard, which caused the metal box to fly off the wooden pole it was glued to.

"Loopy, look what you did!" Flash scolded. Loopy blushed. "Now you go fix it!" she then ordered. Loopy sighed and tried placing the metal box on the pole, but failed.

Flash rolled her eyes and turned her attention on the letter in her claws. _"Well, I'm only doing this rescue team thing until the debt is paid off. After that, I'll retire,"_ she thought as she started opening the letter. She was halfway opening it when she heard a sudden noise.

_**Crash!**_

Flash jumped in fright and dropped the letter on the ground.

"Fix!" boasted Loopy proudly. Flash slowly turned around dreadfully to see what had happened. She put her hands on her head in frustration when she saw what the result of Loopy's doing was. The mailbox had been slammed into the wooden pole so hard, so that the wooden pole was piercing through the box from the bottom to top.

"Oh, great," she muttered. "Now I'm going to have one fourth of a wooden pole for mail every day…"

Loopy walked up to her proudly, and patted her back.

"Good work?" he asked. The Charmander sighed and nodded, bending down to pick up the dropped letter.

Loopy laughed and promptly embraced his arms around Flash and hugged her tightly, dancing around.

"Loopy! How many times do I have to tell you? No hugging!" she wheezed. Loopy put her down.

"Me forget," he excused. Flash looked at him sternly in the eyes.

"Why do I have this feeling that you don't always_ forget_?" she asked him suspiciously. He just smirked and rolled his eyes.

Flash concentrated on the letter again, opening up the last of it. She pulled out a paper and quickly scanned it until she found the big green _"__APPROVED__"_ stamp on the lower right corner of it. She smiled, knowing that phase one was complete. She crumbled it into a ball with one claw and tossed over her shoulder, hitting Loopy's face. He didn't care though, nor did he react.

Flash then picked out a badge, which had a small fist engraved on it, and a pair of navy blue scarves. She finally pulled out a big bag which was made of a sturdy fabric. She gazed at all the items. How the hell did all these fit in?

"Much stuff in small mailbag," said Loopy, looking at all the stuff. Flash just nodded.

"I guess this is the rescue team starter kit. One badge for the leader, which of course is me, and two scarves for us to wear, and finally the so called toolbox where we can store items which we will bring on our adventures."

"Adventure! Fun!" Loopy exclaimed, raising his hands into the air.

"Now, now, Loopy, don't get to hasty," said Flash as she wiggled her claw threateningly towards Loopy. "We're not done with the preparations, you oaf," she added with a smile. She picked one of the navy blue scarves and tossed it to Loopy, who caught it. "Tie it to your body," she just instructed, bending down to pick up the other scarf.

Flash embraced the scarf around her neck and tried to knot it, but she was having problems. Every time she managed to tie a knot, it opened up and she had to start over.

"Flash help need?" asked Loopy. Flash turned around and saw that he was already done with the scarf tied around his head like a head band. Flash grumbled and nodded.

"Yeah, I want it around the neck, but be careful!"

"Me careful," assured Loopy as he begun tying a knot on her scarf, though Flash was becoming worried quickly.

She tried to object, but Loopy then tightened the scarf hard. She shut her eyes and flinched, but then noticed that her air supply hadn't been cut off.

"Done!" he proudly exclaimed. Flash opened her eyes to see a sturdy knot just below her neck and sighed in relief.

"Thanks," she said, "but will I ever get it off?" she then proceeded to ask, knowing that Loopy had tied it pretty hard.

"Worry no," he assured, "hard knot easy to undo. But why off take? Flash wanted it on?"

Flash shrugged, "Never mind." She picked up the badge and attached it to the left side of her scarf. _"All done, I guess, now that the leader of this temporary rescue team is me, I hope this will be over with as quickly as possible,"_ she thought as she walked towards her shack. And as usual, Loopy followed, but he carried the toolbox with him.

Flash heard Loopy following her, and she started to wonder about his past she didn't know about. She looked briefly over her shoulder to meet the carefree smile from the happy Machop which followed her. Nobody in town knew who he was, but she figured that he might've lived at Mt Discipline and could've strayed away.

When she entered the shack she searched for the paper Kangaskhan had left her. She hadn't really checked how much she actually owed her. Thinking of Kangaskhan reminded her of the prank Loopy played yesterday. Flash hoped that she had settled down.

She found the paper under the rock table and picked it up. As she read it, her eyes widened when she saw the total debt.

"Fi-fifteen th-thousand Poké?" she burst out, staring at the paper, "no freaking way!"

After putting the toolbox on Flash's bed, Loopy carefully walked up to her and leaned his chin on her shoulder. "What wrong, is?" he asked.

Flash flinched to get Loopy off her and then just looked at him. "Uh, nothing, really," she replied. _"But I guess this rescue team thing will go on for a pretty long time though,"_ she thought afterwards. Loopy patted her back a few times, shaking his head.

"Me know Flash upset," he told her. "But Team Brawl be fun!" he then exclaimed, catching her in a light hug while lifting her up.

"Hey, Loopy, let me down or I'll tickle you!" she threatened playfully, kicking with her feet. Loopy yelped and dropped her at an instant. She landed flat on her tail. "Ow! Just for that I'm gonna tickle you anyway!" she growled as she jumped up and pounced on him.

"No, no!" was all Loopy could utter before he drowned in his own laughs as Flash tickled him on his belly and sides. Flash found it funny as well, as she had found a weak point of Loopy's.

After a while of tickling, she stopped, but she remained on his chest. "You know what? We should get out and get ourselves a job offer. But we gotta search for one though, as no one knows who we are." She got off him and headed for the exit. Loopy scrambled to his feet and followed.

"Fun!" he exclaimed.

"Let's get to town and see if there is some kind of offer," she suggested. They headed for the town, hoping to get their first rescue job.


	10. Meh, Finding a job

_**Chapter X: Meh, Finding a job…**_

Flash and Loopy were once again inside the town, looking for job offers. Flash wanted an offer that was not too far from the town, and hoped that she'd find an easy for starters. She also made sure to check every now and then to see if Loopy was still nearby, as he would probably stray off to do something stupid. It wouldn't be good if he ripped out one of Kangaskhan's windows.

She chuckled at the thought, even though the door-stunt Loopy pulled off was unnecessary, it was hilarious. She checked to see if Loopy was near her, and he was.

"What funny?" he asked, noticing Flash's grin. She quickly turned around.

"Nothing," she promptly replied. Loopy prodded her back impatiently.

"Something funny, why no tell?" he asked. Flash turned around completely to face him, already annoyed.

"Why are you so damn curious?" she snapped. "Curiosity killed the Skitty, you know."

Loopy looked at her blankly, and blinked twice. He then started to speak. "Who-"

"Let's just find a job offer, Loopy!" interrupted Flash, flailing with her arms. Loopy blinked once again, not saying anything. The Charmander just sighed, but right after that, the Machop gasped as he put both of his hands on his mouth.

"Scary!" he whispered, though it was pretty muffled due to his hands covering the mouth.

Flash looked at him for a while, not understanding what he meant. She patted his shoulder, smiling. "Hey, Loopy, don't be scared. I didn't mean to be so angry." Loopy was still fidgeting however. She sighed, wondering what his issue was now. "Let's go back to what we were doing, finding a job offer," she then suggested.

Loopy quickly raised his hands up in the air, smiling. "Fun!" he exclaimed. Flash feared that he was about to hug her, but she knew how to make him stop if he intended to. The hug never came. She wondered if he was tricking her into letting her guard down, so she carefully took one step away from him to make sure.

Loopy looked at her and put his hands on his hips. "Flash want hug?" he asked as he cracked a mischievous smile. He took one step towards Flash.

The Charmander jumped in surprise, when he had taken that step. She raised her paws in defence. "Loopy, one more step forward and I'll show you the tickle of fury!" she warned, wiggling her claws.

Loopy stood still for a moment, staring at Flash. Suddenly, he ran towards her and swiftly, yet firmly, embraced his arms around Flash, lifting her up. "Flash tickle miss!" he laughed. He made sure that he had caught her arms as well, which prevented any form of tickling.

"Gah! Stupid Loopy!" Flash snarled as she struggled to get free. She glared at Loopy, who only responded with his innocent smile as he tightened his embrace slightly. She tried to shoot an Ember at him, but only a puff of white smoke came out of her mouth. Again.

Loopy laughed more as he spun around once. "Flash no get out, Flash no get out!" he sang, spinning around once more. This caused Flash to struggle more, kicking her feet at Loopy's stomach. Though, that wasn't enough to tickle him.

"Flash give up?" he asked, smiling as playfully as ever.

She glared at him for a while, but then admitted defeat and relaxed. "I give up," she grumbled.

Loopy kept holding her though. "Flash trick will," he told her, not letting go. He kept the hug tight as ever.

"Damnit Loopy! Let me down NOW!" she yelled, kicking his stomach again with no effect. "I've had it with this hug!"

"Flash impatient!" Loopy yapped, tightening the embrace.

Flash was starting to feel pain through her back as Loopy squeezed. She didn't think this was funny anymore. _"Time for plan B,"_ she thought as she raised her tail so it touched Loopy's hands. The tip of the tail burned Loopy's hands enough for him to drop her on the ground.

Loopy rubbed his hands, trying to ease the burning pain in them. They hadn't been severely burned, so they were still useable. When he was done easing the pain, he looked at Flash, who looked pissed.

"You better start running!" she threatened, claws ready.

Loopy fidgeted a bit, taking one step back. "Um," he stuttered, "Flash angry?"

She growled as she ran at him, but he reacted by sidestepping and tripping her. He laughed and blew a raspberry before running off towards the town.

"Just you wait, Loopy!" Flash yelled as she started to chase him.

* * *

When Flash entered the town, she had already lost track of Loopy. She knew that he was in the town, as she had seen him run towards it. She sat down against a building to catch her breath, tired of all the running. She tugged her navy blue scarf, swallowing once before panting again. Wherever she looked, she couldn't find Loopy, and it started to worry her. She stood up and looked at the building she had rested against.

Kangaskhan's Storage. She started to feel nervous, wondering if Kangaskhan was still mad about yesterday's incident. She paced around the corner, only to see the ripped out door leaning against the wall next to the entrance. She sneaked up to the opening, peeking inside to see Kangaskhan behind the counter.

"Uh, Kangaskhan?" she started, getting the Pokémon's attention, "have you seen Loo-"

Kangaskhan glared when she saw who it was. She banged her fist on the counter and pointed at Flash. "OUT!" she bellowed.

Flash dashed away as quick as she could. _"Yup, she's still angry,"_ she thought as she ran towards the centre of the town. Many Pokémon walked about here, attending their businesses. Some were wearing those bandanas in various colours, which signified them being in different rescue teams.

Her concern about Loopy was growing, and she thought that this place would be good to ask if anyone had seen him. But a group of three Pokémon were already approaching her.

A Pichu with a grey bandana on his left ear looked at her. "Looking for something?" he asked.

"Y'need any 'elp?" asked a Magby quickly, having the bandana in the same fashion as Flash.

"We'll fix anytime for ye! Leave it to Team Juvens!" a Totodile finished with a pose, having his bandana tied around his head like Loopy, only that it wass tilted in a way that it covered his left eye.

Flash sweat dropped, looking at the three obviously younger Pokémon. "Uh, have-"

"YEAH!" the three cheered as they high pawed each other.

Flash lost her temper and growled at them, exhaling a big puff of white smoke that covered the three. "I'M NOT OFFERING YOU A JOB!" she cried out in shrill voice. Team Juvens froze, and stared at Flash. "I was just gonna ask you if you had seen a Machop with a blue headband around his head around here!"

"Gee," started Pichu, "you didn't need to yell, Charmander."

Totodile stepped forward, adjusting his bandana. "Yeah!" he snapped.

Magby shook her fist at her. "Ju't 'cause we're young doesn't mean-"

Flash waved her arms quickly, confused again by the bickering Pokémon. "Hey, HEY! Kids, one at a time! Just tell me if you've seen a Machop with a blue bandana! By Mew!" she yelled. The three froze again, looking at her.

"Yes," they all answered in unison.

Flash lit up slightly, "Oh? Where?"

Totodile grinned. "He's right behind yer back!" he burst out. Flash looked at the blue Pokémon and blinked, slowly turning around to face a Loopy with a wide smile.

"HELLO, FLASH!" he shouted in her face, scaring the daylights out of her. Team Juvens burst out laughing at the scene. "Me fast!" Loopy then said, thumping his chest proudly. Flash glared at him and raised her claws.

"You are SO in for a tickling, Loopy!" she snarled, a thin trail of smoke coming out of her nostrils.

Loopy guffawed, walking up to Flash and patted her head. "Flash easy… eh, take. Find adventure!" he requested.

Team Juvens had stopped laughing, but kept smiling at the show. "Adventu'e?" Magby asked.

"So you're looking for job offers too?" assumed Pichu.

Flash shrugged. "Well, yeah. I'm starting out with Loopy here," she said, pointing at Loopy.

Totodile adjusted his bandana again. "Cool, we're looking for an offer too."

"But job offers are found on the bulletin board outside the post office, no?" stated Flash.

Magby scratched her head awkwardly. "W'll, we thought th't maybe we 'ould find an offer right 'ere."

"So we should've done what I said half an hour ago, check the bulletin!" squeaked Pichu, tugging his ears in anger.

"No, _I _suggested that!" snapped Totodile.

"No, y' didn't!" objected Magby.

It didn't take long until they all started bickering again. Flash sighed and dragged Loopy with her to the bulletin board outside the post office. Some other rescue teams were there too, checking job offers as well.

"Now, Loopy, let me do the looking, since we wouldn't want a job we can't handle," she explained.

Loopy nodded, "Understand," he acknowledged. "But pick fun adventure!"

Flash rolled her eyes as she browsed the bulletin board, trying to get a glimpse on various fresh notes which had been put up. She spotted one job that looked rather easy, as it was located in Tiny Forest, but it was too high up for her to reach. She tried jumping, but it didn't work.

Loopy then grabbed her from behind and hoisted her up, putting her on his shoulders.

"Hey!" she yelled, "at least you could warn me before doing that, Loopy!" She balanced on his shoulders while she reached for the note. But as she managed to snatch it, Loopy stumbled and fell down, Flash landing on him.

"Ow," he muttered as Flash jumped off him.

The Charmander helped Loopy to his feet, grumbling a little.

"Sorry," he apologized, looking down.

Flash patted his shoulder, smiling. "It's okay," she said, earning a smile form the Machop, "but no hug of appreciation, okay?" He nodded.

"Why Flash grey band carry?" he then asked, looking at a grey bandana which was wrapped around Flash's chest.

Flash glanced at him inquisitively, and looked at her chest. She saw a bandana, which probably belonged to a team member of Team Juvens, around her chest like a toga cloth. She sighed. "Sometimes I even amaze my self…"

Loopy waved his hand before her face, trying to get her attention. "Adventure now?" He began shadow boxing, showing that he had a lot of energy for fighting.

Flash nodded, "Yep, but I think I gotta return this first," she said as she scratched the back of her head. She took of the grey bandana and held it in her claws. She got an idea, and walked up to the closest Pokémon, which resembled mostly a blue duck without the wings. It had a red gem on its forehead and webbed claws and feet. She knew it was a rescue team member due to the white bandana which was wrapped around the head.

"Pardon me, Mr Golduck, could you hold on to this and give it to one in Team Juvens?" she requested. The Golduck looked at her with surprise.

"Excuse me?" he replied, but Flash already handed over the bandana to him.

"Thanks, real nice of ya! Gotta go now, urgent business!" she blurted out as she darted off with Loopy, laughing.

The Golduck quickly attempted to give chase, but decided not to, since he figured that he'd have a job to do anyways.

* * *

Back at Flash's house, Flash and Loopy had stopped running. They knew that the bigger Pokémon hadn't given chase, so they had paused rest.

"Well, at least that's over with," Flash muttered, still holding the note in her claws. "I wonder what the job is though…" She checked the note. "Oh…"

Loopy walked up to her eagerly, curious. "What? Hard adventure? Me get toolbag!" he chirped as he ran inside the shack to get the sturdy leather box known as the Toolbox. He wore it by putting the strap over his shoulder with the box hanging at his right side.

Flash grinned, "Well, that's good to know. But I don't think we need too much of supplies for this job. I know Tiny Forest pretty good, so I can find some apples and such on the way."

"But what adventure?" Loopy eagerly asked, jumping excitingly.

"Huh?"

"What we do with adventure?" he asked again, trying to ask what they were supposed to do. Luckily, Flash realized what he wondered.

"Oh yeah…" she mumbled, "Our client-"

"What be clint?" Loopy asked, blinking.

Flash let out a frustrated sigh, smoke coning out of her nostrils. "The client is the one who's in danger, okay?" Loopy nodded. "Anyway, I never expected to get this client, however. It's those Wurmple."

Loopy flinched, and clenched his fists. "No-catapi bad!" he growled as he stomped the ground once.

"It could be a different one, Loopy, calm down," she assured, "I hope there won't be any Pidgey involved…"

Flash shuddered.


	11. First Job, eh?

_**Chapter XI: First Job, eh?**_

"Me find apple!" Loopy burst out as he stood on a branch, reaching for an apple. He and Flash were in Tiny Woods, searching for a Wurmple. But Loopy was excited with finding food, however, and Flash was getting impatient.

"Hey, Loopy," she called to him from below. "You already stuffed ten apples in the Toolbox! We're supposed to be on a rescue mission, not an apple raid!"

Loopy looked down at her and jumped down from the branch. He landed hard on his feet, but stood tall after the fall. He held the apple in front of her. "But this apple big!" he claimed as he stuffed it into the Toolbox. "Apple tasty, good!" he added as he patted the Toolbox.

Flash rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, don't fill up the Toolbox with apples, we could find other stuff," she said.

Loopy nodded in agreement, but held the leather bag in front of her, opening it. "Much space left!"

She sighed, and didn't want to bother answer this time. She walked off where the distressed Wurmple was supposed to be, and Loopy quickly followed.

Their progress was only about halfway due to Loopy's apple hunting, and the fact that Tiny Woods weren't exactly tiny didn't help either. But Flash had an assuring feeling that the presumed location of the Wurmple was far from the Pidgey territory, so it would be an easy job.

She looked over her shoulder to see if Loopy was following. He had stopped by a nearby bush, looking for berries.

"Loopy!" she shouted, getting his attention, "stop fooling around!" He looked down and slowly walked to her. "We gotta be quick to save Wurmple before anything bad happens," she then just said, feeling guilty for upsetting Loopy.

"Kay-O!" he replied nodding. Flash looked at him confusedly, but then realized he had swapped the word 'Okay' for gags.

They resumed trekking through the forest, Flash keeping a keen eye on Loopy so he won't dawdle off again. They arrived at an open section of the forest where a thin rivulet streaming across. The warming rays of the sun shone had a free way down to the ground, marking the glade look much more pleasant. She walked up to the rivulet and sat down, watching the water murmur quietly.

"Whew! It be warm!" Loopy exclaimed, wiping a sweat from his forehead, "Thirsty," he added as he walked to where Flash was. He dipped his hands into the water and splashed up a handful of it at his head, and followed up by drinking a bit after. "Water good!" he exclaimed, splashing some water at Flash playfully.

"Hey! Don't do that!" she snapped, jumping on her feet. Loopy sighed, looking down. "Do that again and I'll tickle you!" she threatened, raisin her claws.

Loopy responded with a cheeky grin as he backed away slowly. Flash nodded cockily in victory, knowing that she put him in place this time.

The Machop started to sulk as he wandered off to a nearby tree, but a he noticed a hole in the tree and his childish curiosity came into play as he skipped his way towards the tree.

Flash looked at him, surprised of his sudden change in mood. She followed him to where he was skipping to, and saw that he peeked into a tree. She wondered what he was up to now, and carefully snuck up on him form behind.

"Find thing!" Loopy suddenly exclaimed as he spun around to face Flash, holding something in his hands. "Smell good!" he added.

Flash looked at the greenish jelly he held in his hands and sniffed it. She didn't like the smell of it, but she knew what it was. "Loopy, you found a grass gummi. They're good treats you know, and rare too. Good find!" she commended. "But the taste of this one is probably bad, judging by the smell," she added.

Loopy sighed and was about to put the gummi in the toolbox when he heard a cry.

"Get you filthy hands off my stuff!"

The two Pokémon turned to look behind them to see a yellow and brown striped seed like Pokémon with big, turquoise eyes for its size. The top of it was spiky, and a pair of leaves had sprouted on its head. It was upset at the two Pokémon for raiding its stash.

"Put that gummi back, or else I'll knock you out!" the Sunkern threatened, bouncing in anger. Flash scoffed.

"Ha, talk to him about that," she sneered as she pointed at Loopy. Sunkern growled and charged at Loopy without any warning, hitting his stomach with its head hard. Loopy was caught off guard and fell down on his back, dropping the grass gummi in the process. Flash quickly picked it up without getting noticed.

"Not a tough meanie, huh?" Sunkern hissed, "Let's see how you handle this!" With that, Sunkern shot out a pair of vines of its body which attached themselves onto Loopy's chest. They then began glowing bright green as Loopy whined.

"F-Flash!" he cried, "Me… weaker… feel! Help!" The Sunkern used its Absorb attack to drain Loopy's energy and he was unable to fight off the attack.

"You stupid seed!" Flash roared as she pounced on Sunkern, scratching it multiple times. During her assault, she felt bad thinking that Loopy would handle the fight by himself, but she was part of a rescue team now, she couldn't let one do the dirty work.

Eventually, Sunkern's vines detached from Loopy and the attack was interrupted. Sunkern was struck powerfully by Flash's final scratch, sending it rolling a distance away.

She walked up to Loopy, fidgeting with her claws a bit. "Loopy, you okay?" she asked. Loopy slowly got up, rubbing his head.

"Feel dizzy," he muttered, as he tried to stand straight up. He fell down on his end and reached for the Toolbox, picking up an apple. "But apple help!" he chirped as he started eating it. When he was done, he threw the core away and patted his belly.

Flash smiled. _"At least he's okay,"_ she thought as she picked up an apple herself, eating it slower than Loopy did. "I showed that plant, didn't I?" she told him.

Loopy laughed and slapped her back. "Fight self be good training, Flash," he said, standing up to look at the downed Sunkern. He noticed that the Pokémon was still conscious and was weakly making its way towards the dropped gummi. Loopy quickly walked up to the Sunkern and firmly grabbed it, lifting it up.

"Why attack?" he asked, staring into the Sunkern's eyes.

The Sunkern tried shaking itself free in vain. "You tried stealing my gummi!" it wailed.

Loopy looked at it. "But, me gummi find," he muttered.

"But it's MINE!" Sunkern snapped, "I worked hard to find that gummi, I was just defending it from thieves from you!"

Loopy dropped the Sunkern in shock. "B-but, thief b-bad!" he stuttered, backing away from the Pokémon.

"But I beat you fair and square, Sunkern!" pointed Flash out, "I think we deserve that gummi!"

Sunkern quickly hopped in front of the green gummi, as if defending it. "But you won't like this gummi! This is my favourite colour!" protested Sunkern. The Pokémon edged closer to the gummi as Flash started walking towards it.

Loopy stopped Flash in her tracks. "Gummi be seedy's," he said, earning a glare from Sunkern.

"Did you just call me Seedy?"

Flash tried pushing Loopy away, but he stood firm. "Don't mind him," she quickly said.

"Flash, be no bad! Steal be bad!" Loopy argued, grabbing a hold of her arm. Flash tried to shake herself off the grip, but the Machop didn't budge.

"Loopy!" Flash cried in exasperation, "I won the fight, and I won the gummi as well! Isn't that right, Sunkern?"

The seed Pokémon looked down and said, "Well, you are right. But what are you going to do with a gummi you won't even like?"

Loopy finally let go of Flash's arm when it came to his mind that Flash had 'earned' the gummi.

"Well," started Flash, "I could always sell it."

Sunkern, despite its injuries, bounced in shock. "SELL IT?" it yelled, "Don't do that! That's a waste! A WASTE! Can't we make a deal or something?"

Flash crossed her arms, while Loopy picked up another apple from the Toolbox. "Consisting of what?"

Sunkern calmed down a bit, taking slow breaths. "Grass gummies aren't very appealing to fire types, but Brown gummies are much more appealing to the likes of you," it shortly explained.

"And?" Flash inquired.

"Well," continued Sunkern, "I might find a brown gummi in this forest for you, but I don't know if I'll succeed or not. But please, please, please let me have the Grass gummi."

Flash thought for a moment, but was interrupted during her thinking by a final plea from Sunkern.

"Puh-leeaase?" Sunkern gave Flash the puppy eyes.

"Okay, okay! Stop giving me those eyes! Holy mother of Ho-oh on a pogo stick!" she cried, losing her patience.

Sunkern jumped in joy (again, despite its injuries). "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" it chirped, snagging the Grass gummi with its mouth. "I'll send it to your quarters, what's your team name?"

Flash stared at first, but then realized why the Sunkern had known she was a rescue team member. "Uh, Team Brawl."

"Great! It might take some time, but I swear I'll get it for you!" With that, Sunkern hopped away.

Flash scratched her head and sighed. _"This entire ramble for a simple gummi…"_

"Flash!" Loopy suddenly exclaimed, startling the Charmander. "No-Catapi rescue!"

Flash smacked her head. "Cripes! Forgot about that! Let's go!" she replied as they ran off to find the Wurmple.

* * *

When they reached the place where the Wurmple was supposed to be, they were welcomed with a mob of hostile Wurmple. Flash recognized them from before.

"Be no-catapi there-"

"Loopy, those are Wurmple! Wurmple! It's the ones from that cave the other day!" she barked.

Loopy scratched his head. "Wumpel?" he said.

Flash smacked his head. "They're attacking!" she yelled as two of them used their String Shot attacks at them. Loopy quickly reacted and pushed Flash out of the way as he right after side stepped the attack.

"Intrudersss," some of them hissed. Their compound eyes glowed in the same red hue as before, only this time it was a little brighter.

"_Something's wrong with them,"_ thought Flash as she got up, eyeing the attacking Pokémon. One attacked her using a Tackle, but she quickly scratched it, sending it back. Two more swiftly attacked, and Flash managed knock it back, but the second struck her hard with a Tackle attack. She fell down and three more Wurmple pounced on her.

Loopy grabbed a hold of two of the Wurmple on Flash and tossed them away, but the third promptly turned around and spit some white goo at his face. He reeled backwards, trying to get the liquid silk off his face. While he was defenceless some of the Wurmple promptly used their silk to tie him up.

Flash scratched the sole Wurmple to get it off her, and got up. She watched in horror as five Wurmple quickly tied Loopy up with their String Shot attack. They then pulled the strings to Loopy fell down on the ground, preventing him from breaking free. She snarled at them as the fire on the tip of her tail flared up.

"Let him go, or I'll torch every one of you!" she threatened, clenching her paws. Some Wurmple slowly backed away. But some of them advanced slightly, looking at her as if she was bluffing. She did the mistake and took one step back, and four Wurmple began advancing faster towards her. She saw the Wurmple who had tied Loopy up keep spewing out the liquid silk to make sure he wouldn't break free.

A single Wurmple nudged Flash's leg from behind, scaring the living daylights out of her.

"A-are you from a Rescue Team? P-please get me out of h-here," it wailed, edging closer to Flash. This Wurmple seemed friendlier, as there was no red hue in its eyes. If Flash had had the time, she'd give it some comfort, but she was more worried about the advancing Wurmple.

But they had stopped their advance, and were all staring blankly into the woods behind them.

"Welcome, Master, we have awaited you," they all said. Flash wondered what Pokémon it was, but she say six pairs of bright red glowing eyes slowly floating towards her. The Pokémon consisted of six pink eggs – each having a pair of eyes and a mouth – which were floating together in a rhythm. All of the Wurmple bowed their heads in respect for their leader.

An Exeggcute.

"Master, we have a potential servant for you," a Wurmple said, showing the grass/psychic the tied up Machop. The Exeggcute ignored it as it floated towards Flash, the twelve eyes all pinned on the Wurmple behind her. The Wurmple tried hiding behind Flash in vain.

"So," the grass/psychic started, "you have evaded us for long enough, but soon you'll be under our control again."

"Hey!" Flash exclaimed, getting the Exeggcute's attention, "If you want him, you gotta get through me!"

Exeggcute chuckled as they circled Flash. "Oh, a rescue team member… you look rather fragile, we bet you couldn't burn us at all," it chanted.

Flash growled, only to be answered with another chuckle from Exeggcute. "I'll burn you, and then I'll burn your minions with you!" she threatened.

Wurmple nudged Flash's leg again, "Don't hurt them, Charmander, they're under Exeggcute's control."

"What?" Flash burst out.

Exeggcute was becoming impatient. "So, will you show us your feared fire, Charmander?" it asked, "If you can show us a good fire, I'll let that Wurmple friend of yours go."

Flash took a few breaths, casting a glance at the tied up Machop who couldn't move a muscle. She hoped that a good Ember would scare this opposing Pokémon. She took one big breath and exhaled with all her might at the Exeggcute. And the result of her attack…

…was just a big puff of white smoke that washed over Exeggcute.

Flash looked at the disappointed Exeggcute, and some droplets of sweat trickled down her forehead.

The grass/psychic powerfully rammed her chest, knocking the air out of her. She hit a nearby tree and slumped to the ground, breathing weakly. Her eyes screwed shut in the expression of pain, but she heard the Exeggcute mutter, "Pathetic."

The Wurmple, close to panic, quickly crawled to Flash to see if she was all right. "Please, Charmander, please don't let them get me. Please…" it pleaded, glancing behind it to see the Exeggcute hovering near it. "I'm their last hope, don't let them hypnotise me. Please… please…" it kept pleading.

"Now," Exeggcute started, "it's time for you to become one with us. You are especially needed since you are the leader to this pack of Wurmple, and having you with us makes things easier for all of us," it chanted, looking into the frightened Wurmple's black compound eyes.

Wurmple shivered and backed away, going closer to Flash. "No… no…" it whined. "…nooo…"

"But fear not, dear Wurmple, before we make you one of us, we will concentrate on making that Machop one of us," it ensured, floating towards Loopy, who could do nothing else but to watch the grass/psychic approach him. Loopy stopped struggling and looked at Exeggcute oddly.

"Why egg float? Be birdie egg?" he asked. The Exeggcute hastened up its pace, glaring murderously at the Machop.

"Insolent child! But no matters, we will welcome you as being one of us after our treatment," it said with an enticing voice as they started floating in a weird eight formation.

"Me feel… sleepy… tired…" Loopy muttered as he was slowly falling a sleep.

Flash was regaining her senses and noticed Exeggcute's attempt to hypnotise Loopy. She groggily got to her feet, but one of the six eggs noticed the Charmander's movements.

"You two!" Exeggcute barked, pausing the Hypnosis attack, "make sure she does not interrupt us!"

Two Wurmple made their way towards Flash, about to tie her up with their String Shot attack. But the friendly Wurmple promptly got in the way of the advancing two.

"Stop it! As th-the true leader, I-I command you t-to stop!" it ordered. The advancing two looked at the Wurmple, but then spit a short string of liquid silk at it which missed. Flash dashed to the two and was about to strike one of the opposing Wurmple when the friendly Wurmple yelled at her.

"DON'T! I forbid you to hurt my comrades! Even though they may be corrupted by this fiend of an Exeggcute, I won't let you lay a claw on them!" it screeched at Flash. This did cause the advancing Wurmple to stop, their red hue vanishing slightly from their eyes.

"L-leader Orly?" one said, revealing the leader Wurmple's name. Flash coughed at the shock of the Wurmple's name. "Concentrate on helping your friend while I occupy these two!"

Flash took Orly's advice and ran towards Exeggcute who was busy hypnotising Loopy, but the grass/psychic turned around completely in time to notice her.

"You're too late, weakling," it sneered, "when the Machop wakes up, he will serve no one but us!" Exeggcute laughed triumphantly in Flash's face, gloating over its success.

Flash's paws began to shiver in pure anger; she gritted her teeth while hearing the Exeggcute's laugh. "You… you…" she stuttered, unable to speak as the blood inside her boiled.

Exeggcute leered, "Aw, were we mean to the little weakling?" it teased. Flash took a deep breath. "Spare me…" it teased once more.

Flash exhaled with all her might and anger, and she finally managed to spit a powerful fireball right at the grass/psychic whom was entirely caught off guard by the successful attempt of Flash's. Flash didn't hold back as she ran full speed towards the injured Exeggcute and delivered a hard scratch across four of the eggs.

Exeggcute fell down and tried to get up, but Flash pounced on it and unleashed a barrage of Scratch attacks, adding some Embers as well. During her rage, she could feel her claws scrape and even tear up the shell of the Exeggcute. The cries of agony from the eggs were completely ignored.

She stopped.

Flash took several breaths as she watched the downed Pokémon. She slowly got to her feet, and kept staring at the Exeggcute. She then let her gaze float over to Loopy, who was sleeping due to the effects of Hypnosis. Luckily, the Wurmple under Exeggcute's command backed away from him and Flash, and beat a hasty retreat.

"I… I did it… I finally learned Ember…" she said quietly to herself. The Wurmple Orly crawled forward and bowed its head in gratitude.

"I thank you heartily for defeating this foe, Charmander."

Flash scratched the back of her head, striking a pose. "Well, nothing can stop me, eh, Orly," she said while grinning.

Orly sighed, "Funny, how's the Machop friend of yours?"

Flash looked at Loopy, who still slept, and walked up to him. "I don't know, Exeggcute told me that he would serve them. But Exeggcute is defeated, so he should be all right," she said, looking at the Machop covered in the hardened silk. She sighed as she tried scratching the binding material off him.

"No! STOP!" yelled Orly while crawling to Flash at a high speed, the two other Wurmple following. They all shot out a string of liquid silk that connected to Flash's back and pulled her towards them.

Flash fell down on her back, trying to rip the strings off her. "What's the big idea?" she yelled while being dragged away from Loopy.

"Listen to us," one of the two Wurmple said, "Exeggcute were manipulating our minds and were using us for their wicked plans to rule this part of Tiny Forest! The manipulation wears off after time, and Leader Orly managed to hide from them."

"I had to get assistance if there'd be any hope for us to become independent again, so I figured a Rescue Team would help out a great deal," Orly explained, "But time was short as you noticed, Charmander, you both found me at the same time, and I feared that I'd become their servant again." They stopped pulling when she was at a safe distance.

Flash tried to comprehend all this while getting to her feet, and asked, "But what does not untying Loopy have to do with this?"

Orly groaned, "The Machop might be under their manipulation! When he wakes up, he might turn hostile!"

"Nah, he's too dense to be controlled," replied Flash as she scraped off the white goo off her back. "Don't worry."

They all heard Loopy groan a little, and the Wurmple froze in place.

"Oh no, he's waking up. We better get away and stay out of his way until the manipulation has worn off," Orly told Flash.

Flash looked at Orly and asked, "How long will that take?"

"Hmm, well, first timers doesn't last long, a day if I remember it correctly."

Flash shrugged, walking up to the Machop. "You talked you friends to sense, Loopy' will listen to me," she assured. The three Wurmple crawled casually behind her. "He's tied up as well," she added.

Loopy groaned again, and mumbled a bit. His eyes were still closed, but it seemed that he couldn't open them. Flash kneeled down to look at him, and grabbed a hold of him and positioned him so he sat against a tree. She looked at him; he seemed to be in pain as he tried waking up. She petted his head softly.

"Hey, Loopy, wake up, it's safe to do that," she softly told him, "Come on, listen to me, or I'll tickle you!" She started tickling his sides a little, but he didn't react much to that. He flinched a little though, mumbling something. Flash sighed and decided she'd have to wake him up a little harder. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him slightly, but enough to make most wake up.

His eyes remained closed, but he now stopped flinching, as well as mumbling and groaning. With his eyes closed, he sat straight up as if being fully awake.

"Loopy?" Flash said, looking at his closed eyes. "Loopy?" she repeated.

And suddenly, his eyes shot open. They were glowing in the same glaring, red hue as the hostile Wurmple's. Flash heart skipped a beat as she jumped back in shock.

"WHAT THE F-"

"RUN!" Orly cried as it along with the other two Wurmple crawled away at an abnormally high speed.

Flash were gasping repeatedly as she watched Loopy's hostile demeanour towards her. He struggled to get free as he glared murderously at her while growling ferociously. Flash's breaths slowed a little when she noticed that he was trapped and was still quite defenceless.

"Loopy! Listen to me! You don't want to do this!" she yelled at him, but he wasn't listening; he was gritting his teeth and growling, just waiting to kill Flash.

The Charmander carefully walked up to the hostile Machop, who never let his glare leave her.

"You can't do anything anyway," she muttered.

Loopy calmed down briefly, taking a few breaths, and suddenly used all his strength to break free from the hardened silk. The hardened silk cracked and broke into pieces instantly and he stretched out his arms, flexing them.

Flash cried in sheer terror at the sight. Loopy was now free, and glaring at her with his glowing, red eyes. He charged forward, roaring at the fear stricken Charmander.


	12. Loopy, don't!

_**Chapter XII: Loopy, don't!**_

Flash quickly side hopped the first attack from the attacking Machop, who almost toppled over due to his whiff. Flash used this opportunity to run away to a safe distance in hope that Loopy would ignore her. But running through the forest wasn't that easy, as she had no straight path due to the trees.

She heard heavy running steps from behind and saw to her fear that Loopy had given chase after her. She focused on her way forward and quickly ducked under a low branch as she tried running faster. But the rampaging Machop was still catching up to her, and after another quick look over her shoulder it seemed that he wasn't running at his fastest. Loopy _knew_ he was going to catch up with her anytime.

While not looking forward, Flash almost ran right into a tree, but still hit the side of it which caused her to fall down hard. She rolled a short distance forward, and tried retaliating as quickly as possible when the advancing steps closed in at a quick pace. When she managed to roll to her feet, a foot swung right where she would've been if she had stayed on the ground. She hopped a step backwards in shock of Loopy's attempt to kick her while she was down.

However, she tripped on her own feet and fell flat on her back. When she looked up, she stared right into Loopy's glowing red eyes that longed for breaking something in Flash's body. She became paralyzed with fear when she heard his growling chuckle that echoed inside her mind. He had her cornered, and he was fully aware of it.

Flash tried to shuffle away a little at first, but a quick, threatening growl from the hostile Machop quickly made her reconsider.

"P-p-please, L-Loop-p-py," she stuttered in fear, feeling beads of sweat run down her forehead, "We're p-pals, r-remeb-b-ber?" She noticed that her lower jaw was shivering uncontrollably.

Loopy, who had been staring at Flash intensively with his eyes glowing a red hue, cracked a smile showing gritted teeth. He dashed forward and shot his right arm forward quickly, grabbing Flash by the neck. He hoisted the Charmander up and held her aloft, keeping his toothy grin.

Flash tried prying the one hand grip off with her paws, but it was no use. She then resorted with scratching his face twice. The Machop briefly tightened his grip and rubbed his face. After rubbing his face with his free hand, he moved the fist close to Flash's face, sticking out the index finger while slowly rocking it left to right repeatedly.

Loopy suddenly rammed his fist into Flash's stomach with such a force it would've knocked a Graveler back a good distance. He then let go of her neck, watching her slowly crumple to the ground in pain. The blow had temporarily cut her breathing off for a good ten seconds as she clutched her stomach, writhed in pain on the ground.

She heard another growling chuckle from the Machop, and used all strength to look up and saw him punch his fist into his palm and then rubbing it. He then extended his arm as he bent down to pick her up again. This time, he held her aloft with his left fist, and put his right hand on his hip confidently. He shook her lightly, finding it entertaining to see her limp body dangling like a rag doll.

Flash looked at him with weak, pleading eyes. "L-Loo…p… y... plea…se… s…stop," she wheezed, slowly regaining her breathing. Though breathing had become a feat for her, as every time she inhaled, it felt like a wall of pain that prevented her lungs from functioning normally. "P… ple…ase…"

Loopy rolled his eyes, taking his glare away from Flash for a brief second, and then tossed her over his shoulder like a crumbled piece of paper. She flipped in mid air and landed hard on her back, bouncing slightly on the ground before landing limply on the ground. She struggled to get up, but Loopy calmly put his foot her chest, pinning her. He smiled as he flexed his arm muscles.

"_Stupid Fighting Pokémon," _Flash angrily thought to herself as she hopelessly tried to push the foot away. He loomed over her, his eyes glowing less red, and grabbed her by her scarf. He gently hoisted her up and put her down against a tree. He carefully positioned so she sat straight up while leaning against the tree.

She watched him ready his fists and feared the worst to happen.

"L-Loopy, pl-lease damnit!" she grunted, "don't d-do it!" Loopy scoffed and dashed forward, sending his clenched fist towards her. She screwed her eyes shut as she screamed in fear. The fist slammed into the tree, just above her head.

Loopy watched her shiver for a second before he grabbed her by the scarf and pressed her against the tree.

"And why should I not do it?" he growled, his voice oddly darker than usual.

Flash eyes shot open at the shock of hearing Loopy's first coherent sentence. However, the only thing she realized after that was she was staring deeply into Loopy's furious eyes.

"They gave me orders to rid of you!" continued Loopy, pressing her harder towards the tree. "And then, we shall rule the forest for etern-" He blinked once in confusion as he saw the faint reflection of his head in Flash's scared eyes. "Huh?" He let her go and ignored as she slumped down on the ground.

He put his hand on his head to feel the scarf that was tied around it. He yanked it off and studied the navy blue piece of textile fabric. He then looked at Flash's scarf and compared the colours.

He clutched his scarf angrily as the fist holding it shook. "How come these are the same colour?" he growled.

Flash realized that her scarf would be enough to make Loopy turn normal. "Well, uh, w-we're f-friends and used th-the scarves to prove o-our friendship."

Loopy looked briefly at his scarf, then at Flash, and then at the scarf again. Suddenly, his eyes shone red brightly for a brief moment. "LIES!" he bellowed as he tossed the scarf away. He grabbed her by her neck this time and pressed her against the tree again. "You thought you could fool me? Did you? Did you?" he snarled as he raised his fists.

Flash had recovered slightly from Loopy's previous blows and stared him blankly in the eyes. She had no choice; she couldn't her herself be beat to death by him. She quickly inhaled and spat out her second successful Ember right at the Machop's face at point blank range.

As Loopy was struck by the fireball, he dropped Flash while he clutched his face in pain of the burns. Flash saw the chance, and started to run away for dear life. She hoped that this head start would be long enough for Loopy to lose her.

"_Damnit! Why didn't I listen to Orly? I wouldn't have gone through this mess if I had taken his advice,"_ she thought as she ran through the forest. She fought through the foliage as she tried getting out as fast as possible. But if she did get out, what would she do to turn Loopy back turn to normal? If that Exeggcute woke up, it would make especially sure to keep Loopy.

She heard a distant roar from behind and quickly realized that Loopy was taking up the chase after her. Upon that, she poured more power into running, but the sinking feeling that he was going to catch up discouraged her. But due to pouring too much power in running, her stamina started to fail her, and she slowed down gradually. She started to breathe more heavily as he her steps slowed down.

She almost gave up when she placed one of her paws against a tree to rest. She looked up and thought for a moment. She quickly dug her small claws into the bark as she started to climb up as fast as she could. She managed to climb up a good bit until she heard Loopy closing in fast.

She reached a branch big enough that she could stand on it, and gained a foothold on it as she then remained perfectly still. Hopefully, Loopy wouldn't spot her. The Machop ran past the tree, but slowed down to a stop right after. He scanned his surroundings for a bit, seeming confused. He put an open hand to the side of his head, as if trying to listen to his surroundings.

He calmly walked around the tree Flash was at, looking to the left and right progressively.

And then, his head jerked up to look right at Flash.

"Ah-HAH!" he boomed, punching a fist into his palm.

Flash screamed in surprise as she lost her foothold of the branch. She slipped, but managed got grab the branch with her right paw. However, as she dangled, she realized that there'd no chance for her to climb up again.

"How did you find me?" she asked him, refusing to look down.

Loopy chuckled. "Your heavy breathing up there could be heard from a mile away," he simply replied. He walked up to the tree and punched it hard enough to cause it to vibrate. He did it two times more in order to make Flash lose her grip.

Flash finally looked down to the ground and saw that after the Machop was done punching the tree, he stood right under her with arms outstretched. The Charmander gritted her teeth as she realized that her grip _was_ slowly slipping. She tried reaching up with her other paw in order to get a better grip, but that did it; she slipped, and she fell down and was caught in Loopy's arms.

"HAH!" he bellowed right in her face, "got you!" He lightly tossed her to the ground and then grabbed her by the scarf, ramming her into the tree.

"RRRAAAAGH!" he suddenly roared as he rammed her back into the tree three more times. "You thought that I'd let you beat down my master and not get away with it? You thought that, didn't you? "Huh? Did you?" He rammed her into the tree one final time.

Flash's sight blackened out with each ram, and knew her time was up, she looked at him weakly.

"That look won't save you. Any last words?" he growled as he raised a fist, ready to deliver a punch hard enough to probably crack her skull.

Flash coughed before saying, "At least you didn't hug me to death!" she snapped.

"Eh?" Loopy replied as he looked oddly at her. "Anyway, it was fun chasing you," he then said as he pulled his fist back to knock her out permanently.

"YARRRR!" someone bellowed as a pair of clawed paws clasped together in a knuckle struck Loopy's head from behind. The assault made him drop Flash and he furiously turned around to face the attacker.

A familiar Totodile with a grey bandana on his head, but it was covering his left eye. The green crocodile like Pokémon had obviously attacked from above from behind.

"Attacking innocent damsels are you?" he said in a pirate like accent. "Me mateys and I will teach ye a lesson. CHARRRGE!" he yelled as a Magby and a Pichu leaped out from a bush, attacking Loopy. Magby fired a volley of Embers and Pichu physically attacked using repeated Quick attacks.

While Loopy tried dodging the many Embers, he was struck by Pichu's Quick attacks. He got more furious each time he was hit and started to concentrate on taking down Pichu instead, trying to ignore the Ember.

Totodile joined the fray with a couple of Scratch attacks as he mostly aimed for hits behind Loopy.

Flash found a branch lying on the ground and picked it up. Loopy was too busy with the other three Pokémon she recognized as the Team Juvens she met in the town square earlier this day. She waited for a good opportunity to use her current weapon.

However, Team Juvens had a hard time keeping the enraged Loopy at bay, and the Machop got the better of them by first swatting the Totodile away, kicking the Magby in midst of her Ember assault, and finally grabbed Pichu by the ears.

As he hoisted up the squeaking Pichu, he planted his foot on the Magby, pinning her as well. He chuckled, though he was breathing heavily after all fighting. "Stupid kids…"

"Roaring Rhydon!" Totodile roared again in pirate fashion, glaring brightly at Loopy. "Let me mateys free, ye landlubbAARRR!" He took a step forward.

"Ahem," started Loopy, grabbing Pichu's neck with his free hand. "One more step, and the little mousey is a goner," he warned, eyes glowing as red as ever.

"Get your hands off me you big meanie," the little electric mouse squeaked as he struggled wildly.

"It is I who wAARn ye, landlubbARR!" Totodile snarled, as he took another step.

Loopy sighed, "Why didn't you list-"

_**THWACK!**_

Loopy fell limply to the ground face first. Behind him stood Flash with a broken stick which she had knocked him out with. Both Magby and Pichu quickly ran up to Totodile as they regained their breaths from the battle.

There was an awkward silence for a while, Flash still holding that stick.

"That was close, whew," said the Charmander, breaking the silence.

"Hey, y' okay?" asked Magby, rubbing her own back.

"Are we all okay, mateys? That's important!" snapped Totodile.

Pichu looked at the downed Machop and squeaked. "Hey, waitaminute! Isn't this the Machop friend you were with earlier this day, Charmander? Why'd he attack you?" he piped.

"Wh'n y' think about it, I w'nder tha' too!"

Flash scratched the back of her neck meekly and said, "Well, it started with-"

"Blistering Baltoy! I hate traitors! He shall walk the plank, says I!" Totodile growled, giving the unconscious Loopy a brief glare.

"WILL YOU JUST QUIT THAT FAKE ASSED PIRATE ACCENT!" Flash yelled at the top of her lungs. She breathed heavily after the outrage at the younger Pokémon.

There was another awkward silence until Pichu stepped forward, pointing at Flash. "We saved your life, you know," he pointed out.

"Yeah, w' did!" Magby agreed.

Totodile didn't say anything; he had crossed his arms and was looking away.

Flash sighed briefly and told them about the whole incident about the manipulated Wurmple and Exeggcute manipulating Loopy. That caught Totodile's attention, though, as he almost freaked out.

"Ye don't say, lass? He's still yarrr friend aftarrr that?" Flash nodded, "You met the Persian at the treasury?" Totodile then inquired.

"Bank," Pichu quickly translated with a cough, earning a slight glare from Totodile.

Flash rolled her eyes. "Yeah," she simply replied.

"Good, lass! She knows some psychic who could help him regain his senses," he told her, sounding a bit more serious, thus forgetting his accent.

"But the town's a bit from here, and I can't carry Loopy myself," Flash muttered.

Team Juvens burst out laughing, "Just use the button on your badge, you oaf!" they simultaneously said to her in between their laughs.

Flash growled and pushed the button and was zapped to her shack. She noticed that Loopy was right next to her, lying unconscious on the ground. She sighed in relief.

"Finally…"

But then she realized something, she was in her shack, and it was quite a bit to the town itself. She had to hurry to get to the Felicity Bank in the town to fetch Persian there so she could help her with her problem. She never knew when Loopy was going to wake up, and if he did, she'd be in a lot of trouble.

Before she took off, she realized that she was holding a grey bandana in her paw _again_.

"Aw… not again!" she exclaimed out loud as she threw down the bandana on the floor when she ran off to town.


	13. I hate this town

_**Chapter XIII: I hate this town…**_

As the Charmander entered the town, she stopped to catch her breath. Her house was located far from the town itself, so she had run for a while. She did like living far from the town residents, as they would probably sneer at her for her stealing. She was at the edge of the town, so there was still a bit to the Felicity Bank, where Persian would be.

She set off again to the Felicity Bank to ask the Persian how to help Loopy. She raced past the centre square and finally reached the Felicity Bank. To her luck, Kangaskhan wasn't there so she would get a scolding for Loopy's door stunt. But to her dismay, Persian wasn't there either.

"_On a break?"_ she thought as she read the note on the counter. Her mouth dropped open for a moment as she slowly started to clench her paws, and she felt a sudden urge to scream and stamp her feet on the ground. _"Why now? If Loopy wakes up before I can get this psychic to help him, Mew knows what'll happen."_

She slowly paced in a circle near the bank in case Persian would show up, but then decided to ask some of the residents instead. She headed for the town square to ask for Persian's whereabouts, but most of them glanced at her scornfully.

She approached a Sneasel whom she supposed was a member of another rescue team due to the white bandana around his red ear and patted on his shoulder from behind. "Have you seen the Persian of the Felicity Bank? I need to see her real qui-"

The Sneasel slapped Flash's paw off his shoulder, brushing it off angrily. "Why you filthy Charmander you!" he snapped. He talked in a very pompous, light voice of distinction, and stared at Flash in annoyance. "Oh dear, now I must clean myself up from your filthy germs," he muttered.

"Hey!" Flash yelled, a trail of smoke coming out of her nostrils, "what was that? I'm in a rush, have you seen her or-"

The Sneasel unsheathed his wickedly long claws on his right paw and held it under Flash's chin. She stopped speaking as she stood petrified looking at the deadly blades as Sneasel towered over her.

"Now, I don't like rude, ugly, little girls like you should know their place and make way for beauties like me," he suavely said with honey in his voice. He flicked his black ear with his other sheathed paw as he smugly smiled at Flash. "So, please, little Charmander, give me a reason not to show you what my beautiful claws can do to you due to your violating act you pulled off."

Small beads of sweat formed on Flash's forehead as she sized up the situation, "Uh, well, heh…" she stuttered.

The Sneasel tilted his head as he flicked his ear once more. He stared intensively into her frightened eyes before he quickly withdrew his unsheathed claw. He crossed his arms as he looked away angrily in disgust.

"I reconsidered," he snorted, "you're not worth it, even though ridding the world from you ugly things you is benefiting for some, I don't want to soil my handsome claws with your filthy blood. Adios!" he finished as turned his back towards Flash, walking away.

Flash glared at the Sneasel as he walked away, and clenched her paws. She noticed some other Pokémon nearby that had watched the event between her and the Sneasel. She grumbled a bit of wimpy Pokémon as she walked up to a Lombre who sat down near a wall.

"Have you seen Persian?" she muttered. Lombre looked sadly – or just looked, since one would never know if a Lombre was happy or sad – at her before answering.

"I dunno," he replied tiredly, "try askin' Kangaskhan."

Flash put her paws at her hips as she frowned at the grass/water type. "She's a little angry with me right now, but-"

A brown Pokémon wielding a bone club and a bone helmet stepped up behind Flash. "No wonder, girl, aren't you that thieving Charmander?" the Marowak said in a harsh tone, holding his club firmly in his hands.

Flash turned around to face the Marowak and glared at him. "I don't have time for this! I need to see Persian quick!" Realizing that no one knew where the manager of the Felicity Bank was, she was about to leave the town square. But the Marowak grabbed a firm hold of Flash's paw as she tried walking away.

"You ain't leaving yet! Why do you want to see Persian, hmm? Are you going to take all the money?" the ground type inquired, narrowing his eyes as he pulled Flash closer. The Charmander tried pulling herself free from Marowak's grip, but he just tightened it.

"Lemme go!" Flash yelped as she scratched Marowak's arm.

Marowak retorted by pushing his bone club under Flash's chin in the same fashion the Sneasel had before. "Why the rush then?" he hissed, pushing the club harder against Flash's chin.

Flash grabbed a hold of the bone club as she tried pushing it away, but she didn't want to answer the Marowak. Marowak let go of her and shoved her to the ground.

"Thought so," he muttered, "get outta my sight, thief!" he snapped.

Flash got up and brushed the dirt off her, ignoring the staring Pokémon. She gritted her teeth as her eyes felt try, and just wanted to get out of the gathered Pokémon. She cast one final glare at the Marowak before she ran off.

"_Not gonna cry, not gonna cry, not gonna cry,"_ the thought seared in her head as she ran. She headed for the Pelipper's Post Office, and hoped that Persian would be there. But halfway there, she stopped in her tracks, rubbing her eyes a little. _"Good, no tears."_ But she noticed that she was holding Marowak's bone club. She never knew how she could be so unnaturally slick when it came to accidentally stealing things. In anger, she tossed the club away to the square, but she wasn't a good thrower.

She resumed her trek to the post office, not caring anymore about the bone club, to ask someone there about Persian when she heard a distant yelp of pain that sounded like Marowak.

"_Aw, crud,"_ she thought as she decided to speed up to hide from the supposedly raging Marowak by now and quickly entered the post office. Inside the building it was calm as usual, and the first one Flash noticed was Mr Mime behind the desk. She promptly walked up to him.

"How may I help?" he asked politely with a smile.

Flash returned the smile; at least she'd meet someone who might help her. "Yeah, have you seen Persian?" she inquired, "of the Felicity Bank."

Mr Mime clasped his big hands together with a smile. "She's here, Flash, in the back room, but-"

"Thanks!" Flash ran for the door despite Mr Mime's yells of not going in there and almost ripped it open. "Persian, this is urgent! I need some-"

She stopped as she was met with four pair of eyes that glared at her for disturbing what seemed a meeting. Persian was sitting by a table accompanied with Kangaskhan, Snubbull and green lizard like Pokémon with various yellow stripes on it. There was an awkward silence as they all stared at Flash, who felt uncomfortable.

Kangaskhan was the first to move when she put both of her powerful paws on the table, stood up while glaring brightly at Flash. But Persian gave her a signal to calm down and the brown Pokémon obliged.

"Charmander," Persian started slowly, "we're in the middle of a meeting if you didn't notice."

The green Pokémon jumped off his seat. "Yeah, what's the big deal, thief?" he said, recognizing Flash.

"Silence, Kecleon!" Persian hissed, and Kecleon sat down on his seat again, keeping his glare at Flash. She then turned to Flash, "we'll finish this meeting soon, and if you want to talk, meet me at my bank in five minutes," she suggested.

"But, but I need to talk now!" protested Flash.

"SHE SAID FIVE MINUTES!" Kangaskhan roared, slamming her paws at the table hard enough to cause a small tremble. Another awkward silence ensued.

Groaning loudly, Flash exited the meeting room by slamming the door shut. She stomped her way towards the exit door of the pos office in rage.

"I tried to tell you," Mr Mime muttered.

Before Flash grabbed the doorknob, she spun around, glaring at him. "SHUT UP!" she roared. She instantly felt bad for yelling at him, and her anger slowly turned into regret.

"Had a rough day, Flash? Mr Mime asked, giving her a look of sympathy.

Flash leaned towards the wall, crossing her arms. "Yeah," she muttered, "the usual thief accusing, but there was some Sneasel who really threatened me."

Mr Mime rubbed his chin, "A Sneasel, with a white bandana?" Flash nodded. "I see you met Narcis," he concluded, "he was here not long ago. Little bastard, though his name's fitting. You said he threatened you, no?" Flash nodded again. "Besides himself, he likes scaring other Pokémon, so you shouldn't get scared."

Flash sighed, "But his claws are five times longer and sharper than mine!"

"But he's a rescue team member like you, so he wouldn't cause you any harm; it'd be against the rescue team code," Mr Mime explained. Flash sighed again. "And don't worry about those calling you thief. It'll probably wear off when your team's status rise."

"I'm not aiming for team status," snapped Flash, "I'm just doing it to repay the debt, okay?" Mr Mime shrugged. "I'm going outside now. Thanks for cheering me up, Mr Mime," she then said as she left the post office.

Flash walked to the back of the post office to sit down by the cliff and look at the sea. While she enjoyed the view, she wondered what that meeting was about. Whatever it was, she hoped it'd be over as soon as possible. What if Loopy regained his consciousness and started wreaking havoc? In curiosity, she walked up to the back wall to see if she would hear the meeting from outside. But the wall seemed to be thick enough to let any sound pass through it.

She thought that going to the Felicity Bank to wait for Persian. But before she rounded the back corner, she bumped into a larger form of a Charmander, but a little redder. The Charmeleon looked at Flash and quickly grabbed one of her paws as she tried getting past him.

"Ah, ah, why the rush, sweet thing?" he softly said as he pulled her closer to him. Flash glared at the red fire type as she gritted her teeth when she recognized who it was.

"Don," she said, trying once more to pull her short arm from Don's grip.

He grinned as he softly caressed her cheek with the back of his clawed hand. "How're you doing, baby? I've missed you." He looked deeply into her agitated eyes as he slowly pulled her closer. Flash tried scratching him, but he quickly caught the oncoming swipe. "Heh, still too slow, Flashie-dear."

He dragged her to the back of the building and pressed her up against the wall.

"What do you want, Don?" Flash growled, trying to look away from Don's stalking, blue eyes.

The Charmeleon grabbed a hold of both her shoulders and slowly sniffed her chest up to the face. "A little love, perhaps," he slowly whispered. "Like before, you know."

Flash tried protesting. "But I don't-"

Don put his clawed hand over Flash's mouth. "You don't want to be too loud. Heard that some Marowak's after you. You wouldn't want to get his attention, now would you?" He slowly embraced his arms around Flash, holding her arms in place with a firm, yet soft hug.

He noticed Flash's bandana. "Formed a rescue team? Charming," he stated, snuggling his nose into Flash's cheek. "Thought you'd never do something like that, hmm?"

Enraged, Flash started struggling wildly to get off Don's embrace, but he was stronger than he looked, and his hug was as firm as ever. The Charmeleon smoothly let one of his clawed hands slide up to the back of her head, holding it softly.

"Now, quit the fidgeting if you know what's good for ya," he softly warned her, letting his head rest on her shoulder.

Flash relaxed a bit and took a deep breath. She had been through this before with Don, so submitting now would probably end it quicker. "Aren't you hanging out with that Quilava girl?" she asked him. Don lifted his head from her shoulders and stared deeply into her eyes.

"Why yes, of course. Such a sweet thing… also managed to hook up with a good looking Combusken as well," he said, tilting his head slightly.

"Then play around with them!" Flash spat, sending Don another glare.

Don chuckled, sliding his clawed hand from the back of Flash's head to her back along with the other. "True that, sweetie, but now that I found you, maybe a quick make out wouldn't hurt." He opened his mouth with a big smile, licking his lip a little. "How about it?"

Flash knew he wouldn't take no for an answer; she knew that Don always got what he wanted. She relaxed and closed her eyes as Don's tongue slowly entered her mouth. At least he kept his breath fresh.

* * *

"Where the blazes have you been, Charmander?" Persian hissed at Flash, who was still catching her breath after the sprint from the post office. "The nerve, you barge into an important meeting to speak with me, which caused us to stress the meeting. And then you're not here!" she further scolded her.

"But Persian… Loopy's in some trance!" Flash wheezed, "Some Exeggcute hypnotized him and he started rampaging in the Tiny Forest and even tried to kill me!"

Persian hissed in shock, lifting one of her front paws.

"And Team Juvens, you know the one with the leader who has that fake pirate accent, told me you knew how to fix it!" she then continued.

Persian got up on all four, fur bristling a bit. "Where is he?" she asked.

"At my shack," Flash replied. "He's unconscious," she quickly added. _"I hope,"_ she thought afterwards.

"Go there," the cat ordered, "and I'll be there shortly. Now, off with you!" She pounced off to find the Pokémon who could help Loopy.

Flash took her advice and ran back to her shack, but images of Don still flashed in her mind, and she hated it.

* * *

When she arrived at her home, the first thing she saw was a Golduck she recognized from before, with the white bandana around his head. He was restraining Loopy, who had regained his consciousness, by firmly holding his arms straight up with no effort. She also noticed a sloth like Pokémon with a white bandana worn like a toga who seemed constantly tired. And last, to her utter irritation, she saw that Narcis was there too, holding a small mirror which he used to look at himself in.

"Let me go, you icky duck!" Loopy growled, trying to break free from Golduck's hold.

The blue Pokémon cast a glance at Flash. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"It's my house," Flash replied, glaring at Narcis who just noticed her.

"Wonderful!" Golduck exclaimed, "this Machop broke into your house, it seems, and we're about to finish him off."

The Slakoth scratched his head. "Yeah, maaan, you know, he, like, attacked us and… hmm he tried punching us and stuff," he mumbled.

"Whoa, whoa! Wait a minute!" Flash quickly said, "He's my friend!"

Golduck's eyes widened a bit. "Friend, you say? He looks pretty intent on killing you," he remarked as Loopy kept growling and struggling.

"Wouldn't surprise me," Narcis said in a singing tone, "you're both equally filthy." He sent a smirk at Flash, flashing his fangs as he flicked his ear with his paw.

"Narcis, can it!" Golduck snapped, "And Fenton, wake up!" he shouted at the Slakoth who had fallen asleep while standing.

"Uh, wha?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes.

Before Golduck could continue speaking, Persian and a Hypno appeared nearby.

"There!" Persian told the psychic, "The Machop is the one who's the troubled one."

Hypno nodded as he walked up to the restrained Loopy with his pendulum in his hands. He stopped in front of the fighting type and stared at him with narrowed eyes. He then started rocking his pendulum from the left to the right slowly.

"You said he was unconscious, Charmander!" Persian hissed.

"But your meeting took too long!" protested Flash.

The three other Pokémon walked up to Flash – whereas Golduck had let Loopy go after he fell asleep from Hypno's hypnosis – and somewhat interrupted the conversation between Persian and her.

"Now that that's settled," Golduck started, "I'd like to ask you why you set me up for stealing Pichu of Team Juven's bandana. Not nice, kid, that situation was bad for my reputation as a rescue team leader," he sternly commented, crossing his arms. Flash looked up at him; he was almost twice as tall as her so he looked pretty superior over her as he tapped a clawed finger.

"Well, uh, I accidentally got hold of it and-"

"You had to blame me?" Golduck finished for her as he loomed over her.

Persian jumped in between the two and looked at Golduck. "Lucifer, are you threatening a fellow rescue team member?" she asked the water type.

Lucifer the Golduck let his gaze slide over to the cream coloured cat. "Of course not, miss Persian," he replied with a faint smile. "I just want to clear up a little misunderstanding."

"Do that tomorrow, this Charmander has had a bad day, so leave her be!" Persian hissed.

Lucifer stared at her, and then briefly at Flash. "As you wish then," he smugly said as he signalled his team mates to leave.

Persian walked up to Flash. "Mr Mime told me after the meeting," she purred, "how's the rescuing going?" she then inquired.

"Finished one mission, but the payment would come tomorrow," Flash replied. The manager of the Felicity Bank smiled a little when she heard that.

"That's nice to hear."

Flash still looked at the departing team. "Who're they?"

Persian sighed. "They're Team Cutthroat, with Lucifer the Golduck as the leader. They're pretty high-ranked, rank silver to be exact." Flash nodded in acknowledge.

"It is done," said Hypno, catching both Persian and Flash's attention. "He will need two days sleep to recover. But fear not, he will not be in need of eating, as he's sleeping deeply."

"It was a job most well done, Hypno," said Persian, sounding much more polite.

Hypno clasped his hands together. "It was with most pleasure, his dreams where naïve and sweet."

Persian turned to Flash, "Don't worry, your friend is put in a deep sleep, and Hypno executed a small Dream Eater attack to cleanse the manipulative power inside him. You're in luck though, as his dreams were tasty to Hypno, so he won't charge us for the treatment."

"Thanks, it'll be nice to have him back to, eh, normal," Flash said, letting out a sigh of relief. "But two days?" she then asked.

"The Exeggcute's hypnosis was strong indeed," Hypno said with his back turned towards her, "keep in min that he will not wake up in the next two days."

Flash rolled her eyes. "Could you please help me putting him bed for me? He's too heavy for me."

Hypno nodded and used his psychic power to levitate the sleeping Loopy to the inside of the shack and lay him gently on the pile of hay. Flash once again thanked the two before they left off.

Flash felt relieved herself, and as she looked out, the sun was setting. She walked to her side of the shack and cuddled up in her pile of hay, instantly falling asleep.


	14. Rescuing on my own now

_**Chapter XIV: Rescuing on my own now…**_

Flash yawned as she slowly got up from her pile of hay, or Loopy's supposed side of the shack, since Hypno had put him in Flash's bed, and scratched her back lightly as her eyes were still tired. She straightened up a little and got to her feet. Loopy was still sleeping deeply, and wouldn't wake up until next day or so.

When she walked outside she was greeted with a dull, grey, cloudy sky. She sighed; the sight of the day already made her tired. She was about to go inside again for a quick nap she heard the flapping sound coming from an approaching Pelipper. She looked at the direction the sound came from and spotted the mail bird Pokémon.

The blue and white pelican-like Pokémon landed on the mailbox, glancing at Flash. "Good morning!" he greeted, sounding quite cheery. Flash responded with a faint smile as she waved back. Pelipper acknowledged the reply and started digging in his postbag he was carrying. He picked up a beakful of letters and shoved them into the mailbox with a 'clunk' noise.

"OW!" he screeched as he rubbed his beak with his wing. Widening his eyes in anger, he hopped down on the ground to see what object inside the mailbox hurt him. He started flapping his wings wildly when he saw what he hit his beak on. "What in the name of Lugia is this?" he shouted at Flash, his happy mood entirely gone.

Flash didn't know what Pelipper was talking about so she carefully walked up to him. Though, the bird got impatient and continued anyway.

"May I ask you _why_ there is a wooden pole inside this mailbox?" he asked harshly. Flash giggled a little, realizing what Pelipper had hit his beak on. "What kind of a cruel joke is this?" he continued rambling, not exactly happy when he realized Flash was finding the scenario funny.

"I'm sorry, Mr Pelipper, but Loopy broke the mailbox and tried fixing it. I'm sorry about the beak," she apologised, trying to hold back some giggles.

Pelipper flapped his wings wildly once more, some feathers flying off in the process. "Bah, you youngsters!" he snapped, "I'm getting behind the schedule anyway! I'll try to be more careful next time with that death trap of a mailbox!" With that he flew off, his muttering and grumbling fading away as he disappeared into the distance.

Flash smiled a bit, remembering the scene. It was always fun laughing when others got hurt. She walked up to the mailbox and found three letters in them, two of which probably contained items due to them feeling thicker and heavier. With the letters in her paws, she quickly walked inside the shack, excited of what the letters said.

Seated before a stone plate which acted like a table, she eagerly opened the first letter, reading it.

_Dear Charmander of Rescue Team Brawl_

_We heard that you survived the barrage from your Machop friend from other rescue team members. We are truly sorry that it happened to him, but the word from the town said that he has gotten some treatment and we hope he gets well soon._

_However, the fantastic deed you performed yesterday was more than successful; Exeggcute has been taken care of by us now that we're all normal. We drove them out of our territory and peace is returning to our grounds._

_Once again, dear Charmander, our deepest gratitude for your work, the reward comes with the letter._

_Sincerely yours_

_Orly, leader of Wurmple pack of Tiny Woods._

_PS. We found a scarf that looked very much like yours, maybe you dropped it._

Flash sighed and looked in the envelope, and found the navy blue scarf that Loopy had thrown away yesterday during his rage. She turned the envelope upside down and a pile of golden coins, also known as Poké fell out. Her eyes glittered as she started counting them greedily, and sorted the different values carefully so she wouldn't make a mistake.

"_Wow, one thousand Poké. Not bad,"_ she thought. She gathered the coins and put them in a small metal box which contained other things she valued. She then took the box and walked to a corner of the shack, lifting one of the wooden planks. She put her box into her hidden storage and put the plank back in place.

She walked back to her stone plate and opened the second letter.

_Hiya!_

_This from Sunkern. Thanks for letting me have that gummi. I found a brown one for you._

The Charmander searched the envelope after reading the short letter and found a brown gummi in it. She regarded it for a while before she stuffed it into her mouth. It tasted pretty good and it helped her get over yesterday's events. She picked up the last letter, which had a rescue team insignia on it. This defined it as a job offer.

"_A job offer already?" _wondered Flash, cocking her eyebrow scales a little. Usually, she had always had the idea that most teams often had to accomplish a bigger number to get known by the Pokémon outside the town. She curiously opened it and started reading.

_BZZT BZZT DEAR TEAM BRAWL_

_WE HAVE HEARD ABOUT YOU FROM CATERPIE AND WE ARE FACING A PROBLEM. A STRANGE EVENT AT THUNDERWAVE CAVE CAUSED TWO OF MY FRIENDS TO BE FUSED WITH EACH OTHER AND MAGNEMITE MUST BE THREE TO FUSE. THEY ARE STUCK INSIDE THUNDERWAVE CAVE AND WE NEED HELP. BZZT!_

_MAGNEMITE_

Flash stared with wide eyes at the letter and sweat dropped. _"Why are they writing in their speech pattern? The "bzzt" make this more awkward than it already is."_

The Charmander started thinking about the place the rescue mission was located. Thunderwave cave wasn't that dangerous or big, but it was quite far from her living quarters. She picked up an old map of the lands and checked the location of Thunderwave cave to make sure she knew where it was. Quite a bit to walk, but she'd have the supplies of apples Loopy had found during the previous missions.

Further north of Thunderwave cave where the dangerous grounds, where many predators resided. Few rescue teams passed through that point due to the dangers. Those who had been there had usually paid a quick visit at Northern range or Pitfall valley. Flying types were usually captured by birds of prey in the vicinity, and water types would get chased away if they neared the north western part of the continent.

Sighing, she went outside, casting a final glance at Loopy. She'd have to do this rescue on her own. She had to do this so she could repay that debt to Kangaskhan. Picking up the toolbox, she wore it on her shoulder as she set off towards Thunderwave cave. She felt confident about this mission; she knew Ember after all. And in case Kangaskhan would come over to remind her of the debt, she'd be away.

She kept her eye peeled on the path – doing her best to avoid looking at the dull sky – towards Thunderwave cave.

* * *

"Halt!"

Flash stopped dead in her tracks. She was at the eastern edge of Tiny Woods, halfway from her destination. She looked at a nearby tree and spotted Spearow perched on a branch, looking suspiciously at her.

Flash fiddled a little with her paws as she glanced around herself. She was surrounded by the whole flock. "What do you-"

"Silence," the leader Spearow said, lifting one of her wings. "It has come to my knowledge that you have formed a rescue team, and seeing the scarf of yours is enough proof for me," she concluded.

"We aren't fond of that kind of Pokémon, Charmander!" another Spearow snarled.

Flash spun around to face the bird Pokémon that had spoken. "What do you want?" she asked, feeling nervous of the situation.

"You know very well why we formed a pact with you," the leader said, "I am still grateful that you saved me from Pidgeotto, but I _clearly_ stated that we would let you stroll freely in our territory as long as you weren't a-" She grimaced slightly, "rescue team member." The bird Pokémon straightened herself up and hopped down from her branch, landing a few feet from Flash.

The Charmander backed away a few steps, tensing her body as she glanced at the Spearow around her. "But isn't your territory inside the forest?"

"Was," the leader corrected, "for now, that is."

"Bloody Pidgey flock attacked us without warning! Sneak attack at its prime!" another spat, fluttering his wings slightly in anger.

The leader sighed. "So now we're driven out of our former territory, and our new is here by the forest edge."

There was a short silence, and Flash's breathing was slowly increasing its pace.

"But," the leader suddenly said, lifting a wing, "I choose to let you pass one last time. But remember what I've told you, so you don't plan strolling in our territory in the future," she warned.

Flash was about to protest on how she'd know when they moved their territory, but one more glance from the leader stopped her from it. Hanging her head low, she walked away from them.

* * *

She was in front of a grey, threatening cave opening. She knew this was the Thunderwave cave where her mission was located. The trip alone had drained a bit of her energy, and she had gotten a little hungry. She put down her toolbox and picked out an apple, promptly eating it.

A pair of grey orbs with a pair of horseshoe magnet each on their sides emerged from the cave. One of them crackled in electricity as it started to speak.

"BZZT! IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU'RE HERE! BZZ BZZ!"

Flash covered her ears in pain as the electric steel Pokémon spoke. She didn't like the high pitched robotic voice.

"OUR FRIENDS ARE AT THE SIXTH FLOOR OF THIS CAVE. PLEASE BE CAREFUL! BZZ BZZT!" And with that, they took off, leaving Flash confused and irritated.

"That was pointless… just handing the work over to me and then buzzing off. Thank you so much," she muttered, resuming to eating her apple. When done, she picked up her toolbox and used the strap to hang it on her shoulder. She thought a little, she was alone this time, but from what she had heard, Thunderwave cave wasn't that dangerous despite it being close to the dangerous grounds. She shrugged; at least this cave wasn't too big, so it wouldn't be that dark. She stepped inside.

Flash knew that the term floor in a cave defined the depths of a dungeon. The further you went, the more ravage some Pokémon reacted to intruders. Some dungeons tended to be big enough to force a rescue team to rest overnight sometimes, but that occurred rarely, and the client had to be located far into the dungeon itself, which was also rare.

But even though the two Magnemite _were_ located as far in they could, it wouldn't be too hard. As she walked about, watching her surroundings, she wondered what she'd do when she was done with the debt. She shrugged again, that'd take time anyway.

She noticed a black dog like Pokémon eyeing her with its red-yellow eyes. But the Poochyena wasn't that close to her to be a threat, but it shook its ruffled fur in alertness as it slowly made its way towards her.

The Charmander thought briefly, Poochyena were known to be quite cowardly if one attacked back at them, so if her theory was right, it would be just a minor threat. She ignored it and proceeded through the dungeon, making sure that the strap on her toolbox wasn't about to snap off in case that would happen.

She heard some scurrying steps closing into her from behind. She quickly turned around to see the Poochyena charging at her with its teeth bared. She raised her forepaws in defence and snarled in hope to scare the bite Pokémon away.

It didn't work. The dark type leapt at her and tried to employ a bite attack. Flash managed to counter and connect with a Scratch as it sent the Poochyena rolling away from her. Realizing its defeat, the dark type scurried off.

Flash grinned at the fleeing Pokémon. _"Shows that coward who's the boss around here."_ She swiped the air a few times with her claws. _"Maybe this'll turn out to be some fun after all,"_ she then thought.

She proceeded to trek through the dungeon, keeping her eyes open for any hostility nearby. She knew that the dungeon's inhabitants were mostly Poochyena, female Nidoran and Rattata. She knew that in the deepest part of this dungeon, she could stumble into some Elekid or even some notorious Plusle and Minun pairs.

Her sense of hearing registered another set of scurrying steps from her behind, and as she turned around, she saw another Poochyena about to attack her. She managed to get in a Scratch attack just as the hostile Pokémon got in range. And as it fled in cowardice, another Poochyena had snuck up from her from the side and pounced on her, knocking her to the ground.

She heard the fleeing Poochyena skid to a halt as it turned around to attack her again.

"Cowards!" she growled as she rose to her feet, only to get bitten in her right paw by the Poochyena that had struck her with a Bite attack. She used her other paw to deliver a scratch across the bite Pokémon's face, which promptly forced it to let go. The second Poochyena leapt at her while she was vulnerable, but she had had it; she let loose of a red-hot Ember right at its face.

It hit the dark Pokémon right in its face, knocking it back a distance. As it weakly got up, it called for its partner.

"That lizard knows Ember! Let's get outta here!" it whimpered, running off with its comrade.

Flash grinned at the two cowardly Pokémon, but she was soon reminded by the pain in her right paw. Knowing that it'd be best to fix it as quick as possible, she searched her toolbox for an apple. She picked one out of the toolbox and quickly ate it as the wound on her paw slowly healed itself.

Throwing away the core, she marched on, still aware of her surroundings in case those Poochyena would attack again. It had become a little dimmer as she walked through the stony dungeon, and she wondered how far she had come. She saw a bluish Pokémon that pretty much resembled a rabbit due to its large ears, but the various spines on its back denied most of it. The female Nidoran looked briefly at her before minding her own business.

Flash continued walking, and soon took a break where she though was halfway through the dungeon. As she sat down, she wiped a bead of sweat on her forehead, letting out a tired sigh.

"_At least the Nidoran don't mind me," _she thought for herself. She glanced at a spot she first thought was something shiny. _"Huh? What's that?"_ She walked over to the shiny spot and found out that it was a small pile of Poké. Her eyes lit up in joy as she scooped up the cash and counted it.

"_Two hundred and eighty-four Poké! Not bad for a find, heh,"_ she thought as she pocketed the money in a separate money compartment in the toolbox.

But upon doing that, her hearing started to register familiar, scurrying steps. She looked at the direction the sound came from, and quickly figured it was not one, nor two, but a pack of Poochyena heading her way.

She quickly jumped to her feet to run away from the pack, but after a few steps, she skidded to a halt. She knew that Poochyena was the kind of Pokémon that never gave up on their prey, and had to be faced down to make them flee. She stood firmly on her ground and waited patiently, yet nervously, for the pack to close in.

They emerged from the darkness formed together in a triangle formation, and slowed down their approach as they saw the Charmander stand completely still. Flash gulped once, trying to stare them down as she quickly looked for a suitable escape route. She found none.

"Well," a Poochyena started suddenly, "it sure was a long time I saw a Charmander in our territory." Flash presumed that he was the leader of the pack, as he seemed a little bigger and more scarred than the others.

"Stay back you scruffy pooches!" Flash snarled as she spat out a warning Ember towards them. They just hopped away, and some of them watched the fireball dissipate into nothing.

"Now, now, Charmander," the leader said calmly, stepping forward a bit, "you're outnumbered, so you should just give up right now. The faster you give up, the less painful it'll be," he smartly suggested.

Flash took one more step backwards, feeling the powerlessness consume her almost completely as all of the dark types leered at her. She really wished Loopy was here this time.

Something struck her from behind, causing her to stumble to the rocky ground face first. And almost instantly, a pair of black paws stood on the back of her head, forcing her to bite the dust.

"Got her!" the attacker from behind said, who obviously was another Poochyena.

"Splendid!" the leader commended his lower comrade. He then leered down at Flash with his mouth half open, a glob of saliva dropping down from it. "It was nice of you to give in quickly, dear, so we'll make it quick for you, as long as you don't try to play any cheap tricks with that tail flame of yours."

"Cheap tricks?" Flash snarled as her face was pressed towards the ground as she in vain tried to push herself up, "says the one who has a whole pack backing up oneself instead of fighting one on one!"

The leader of the pack shook his head slowly, clicking his tongue. "T-t-t, dear, such a behaviour from you will only be resulting a worse death from you. I may have to remind you that since you entered our dungeon, you were aware of the risks of becoming prey to the inhabitants, which in this case is us. And you lost."

"Lost to the wimpiest dark type of them all," she growled. But the Poochyena pinning her heard that and dug its claws lightly into the back of her head. She groaned in pain.

Flash had a feeling that she was done for. Even if she would manage to throw of the pup form her back, she'd get knocked down by either of that asshole's pack at once. She clenched her paws as she groaned a bit more.

But she weren't aware, nor was the Poochyena pack, of a small Pokémon that had been watching the event from a safe distance in a hole of the dungeon.

"_Fear not, my elaborately calculated surprise attack will throw these filthy rascals completely off-guard," _he thought.


	15. Stupid mutts!

_**Chapter XV: Stupid mutts!**_

"Now," started the leader of the Poochyena pack, licking his fangs, "what to do with a Charmander?" he mused as he looked down at the pinned down Flash.

"You could let me go," Flash suggested hopefully.

The leader Poochyena chuckled. "Nah, we're not falling for that one," he darkly said to her.

"Um," started one Poochyena in the pack a bit uneasily, "once we actually-"

"SHUT IT, WILL YA!" the leader barked as he sweat dropped. "Back to what I was saying," he then continued, more calmly, "Fire types usually has crunchy skin, and very juicy meat from what I've heard."

Flash's eyes widened as she tried to break free from the Poochyena pinning her. "No way you're eating me, you mutts!"

"I like it when you struggle, dear," whispered the Poochyena pinning her, sniffing the back of her head lightly.

"Bastard!" Flash shot back as she tried to swipe with her claws which didn't work. The pinner lifted one paw and brought it down hard on Flash's head.

The leader sighed and stepped forward. "Silly me, how could I forget," he muttered, "get that little Toolbox for me, please," he ordered the pinner. The Poochyena who held Flash in place loosened his hold to rip the Toolbox from her.

However, the second the dark type loosened his hold, Flash turned around to swipe her paw across his face. She scored a hit, scratching him and throwing him off her. But as she was about to rise to her feet, the same Poochyena struck her down again. The dark type quickly pounced onto her and placed his front paws on her arms, snarling at her.

"Not very wise, dear," muttered the leader, watching his comrade pinning her down again. "The more you resist, the worse you death will be."

"Yes," snarled Flash's pinner, staring deeply into her blue eyes with his own red. "It will be painful." He bent down, closing into Flash's head. "Very… very… painful…" he whispered as he pressed his forehead against Flash's, staring intensively into her eyes.

Flash tried to look away from the Poochyena, but couldn't. She started to worry if she was risking getting fleas from the mutt. "I, uh, could you move for face away-"

"Not a chance," he snarled.

"Ow!" yelped one in the pack. The leader sighed and turned around.

"What is it now?" he irately asked his pack.

"She threw a rock at me!" the dog yapped, glaring at another Poochyena who glared back.

"I did not!" she yapped back.

"You did too! It came from your direction, you-!"

"SILENCE!" the leader bellowed, shutting the two up. As he turned around they started bickering lowly. "I can still hear you!" he warned once more, and the two stayed silent.

Flash stared into the red eyes of the one who held her down. Unlike her own whites in her eyes, this one as well as with other Poochyena, had yellow instead of white, making them more frightening. She tried taking advantage of the minor distraction to throw the dark type off her, but he was only concentrating on holding her down. And as he noticed that she was struggling, he moved away his head from Flash, increasing the distance between the two, and began to pant lightly.

The repeated breaths from the dark types swept through her face, and the tongue hanging slightly from the mouth, she couldn't put up with it anymore. She was about to panic as she increased her struggle to get free.

"That's right, dear, keep up with that struggling. It won't help." And with that, he bent down and slowly licked her across the face. As Flash's expression twisted in disgust, the Poochyena slowly licked his lips in satisfaction.

The leader walked up to her and grabbed the Toolbox using his mouth. "Let's see what a lone Charmander has with her…" He started to search it, but snorted when he found out there were only apples. Sighing, he picked up one with his mouth and bit it in half, chewing it with a wondering look at the ceiling.

"Good appetizer!" he chirped, licking his fangs.

Flash kept struggling, hoping that she'd at least get one arm free. "Why don't you eat them then? Don't eat me!" she begged.

The leader shook his head. "I'm sorry dear, but we're not vegetarians," he told her, showing off his fangs.

An idea struck Flash as lightning, she had forgotten about her Ember attack. She inhaled deeply and glared at the Poochyena holding her down, preparing to launch a fire attack right in the face.

But he quickly snarled viciously in her face. "I dare you…" he lowly said, clenching his teeth hard as a small drop of drool fell down next to her face. "Let that fire out… and I'll tear you limb by limb…"

"You should listen, Charmander, he usually stands for what he says," the leader advised.

Flash complied by spitting out the Ember sideways, deliberately missing the target. The Poochyena lifted one of his front paws to give a rewarding tap on her cheek. She tried to use that momentum swipe at him, but he quickly slammed down his paw on her free hand, pinning it once more.

"Don't think so," he grinned.

"OW!" someone from the pack yelped.

Almost popping a vein, the leader whirled around furiously. "NOW WHAT!" he roared.

"Now _he_ threw a rock at _me_!" the female Poochyena yapped.

"I did not!" protested the accused one. "You started it!"

"You accuse me for throwing rocks at you when they come from_ your_ direction, you twit!" argued the female.

The leader barked at the two. "That's IT! You're excluded from the feast!"

"Look what you did, you stupid piece of Magikarp food!" the female yapped at the male.

The male Poochyena growled and pounced on the female, who in turn fended him off.

"Hey, stay off my sister!" barked another Poochyena as he joined the fray.

"Back off!" a third one yapped as he did the same.

"WHO THREW A ROCK AT ME!" roared a fourth one as she jumped into the fray as well.

It didn't take long before the whole pack was fighting each other, with only the leader and the one pinning Flash staring at their pack, blinking.

Flash used this distraction to position her feet at the Poochyena's stomach so she'd be able to push him off. But again, he reacted quickly, this time letting go of her arms and using his front paws to grab the side of her face.

"One more move…" He lowered his head, mouth slightly open, "and I will hurt you… a lot."

Flash stared at him, still keeping her feet at his stomach. She stayed perfectly still, small beads of sweat forming on her forehead as her heart was beating rapidly fast. She was wondering what had set up the fight in the pack, and who the rock thrower was.

The leader gestured his minion to get on with it, and he emitted a low chuckle.

"Haa…" he started, exhaling his breath at Flash, "I guess I'll hurt you anyway…"

"Just _do_ it already!" barked the leader.

But at the same instant the Poochyena was about to bite her, she quickly grabbed a hold of his jaw to hold him off. They both fought to win the struggle, and Flash's grip was about to slip from the Poochyena's jaws.

"I don't want more mutt germs!" wailed Flash, trying to kick the dark type off her. The dark type laughed as he realized that he was slowly winning, but to ensure a faster victory he dug his claws into the sides of her face.

Flash whined as she tried to ignore the pain, but she was losing even faster. Her neck was in between the Poochyena's jaws, and she used all her strength to push them away.

"Ow!" the leader now yelped. "How dare you throw a rock at your leader?" he barked at the Poochyena trying to kill Flash. He quickly stopped what he was doing to look at his leader.

"I didn't do anything!" he protested, "can't you see all my limbs are already occupied doing something else?"

The leader Poochyena started to growl loudly in exasperation. "Where are all those accursed rocks coming from?" he yelled.

"From me, I believe," a voice said. Both the leader and Flash's captor looked further into the cave, and a small purple rat came out from the shadows. "Why hello," he greeted, using his forepaw to grab one of his whiskers and stretching it out like a moustache.

"You…" the leader growled, glaring at the Rattata who had spoken.

Flash took the opportunity and finally managed to catch the Poochyena off guard and footed him off her. She quickly rose to her feet and scratched towards the Poochyena to keep him away. She ran up to her saviour, a meagre Rattata.

"Thanks," she said lowly, rubbing off any of the saliva she had gotten on her from the dark type.

"Now is not the time for thanks, miss," he promptly replied, eyeing the two Poochyena glaring at them.

They both growled at the two Pokémon as they slowly advanced. "You two are _so_ dead."

"I would disagree. From the looks of it, it is a two-on-two match now, taking account what your pack is doing right now," he said, showing off a smart smirk.

The Poochyena both looked behind them to see a dust cloud containing their pack still fighting.

"I got your nose, Scruffy!"

"HEY, GIVE THAT BACK!"

Both Poochyena sweatdropped with a simultaneous sigh, shaking their heads as they became aware that the situation they were in was bad. Flash and the Rattata snickered a little at the sight.

"Kill them!" ordered the leader his minion, who rushed forward to attack Flash. But the Charmander unleashed an Ember to knock him back and scored a perfect hit.

"Take that, you dirty pervert!" she growled, spitting out more Embers to scare the two Poochyena away. As the two fled, they accidentally ran into the fray of fighting Poochyena.

"YEOWCH, DAMN!"

"I command to st… OW… cease this… MY EAR!" was the cries of the leader as he along with his pack fought fiercely against each other in the big cloud of dust.

The Rattata budged Flash's side to get her attention. "I guess it is time for us to take our leave now, miss," he suggested, "those ruffians will not be too cheerful when they are done fighting."

Flash nodded and picked up her Toolbox, and then followed the Rattata further into the cave.

* * *

Further into Thunderwave cave the two stopped to rest shortly.

Flash looked at the Rattata. "Hey, thanks for saving me back there, eh, Rattata," she thanked once more.

Rattata scoffed, "I do have a name, miss."

Flash shrugged and picked up an apple from her Toolbox and started eating it.

"My apologies, miss," the Rattata then said, bowing slightly. "I have yet to introduce myself. I am Francis of Bluntentooth IV Junior, item specialist extraordinaire!" he proudly exclaimed, tugging one of his whiskers with his paw while smirking widely.

Flash blinked, "Item specialist?"

"Maybe you did not notice my ingenious use of gravelerocks?" he said, still tugging his whisker. "By using the wall formations' angle with the calculation of how much spin was put into the rocks, I could easily sit in one place and score hits on those unintelligent Poochyena from every direction mathematically possible."

Flash blinked once again, trying to comprehend what Francis said. "Uh, okay… but why did you help me?" she asked, scratching her head.

"Two reasons, miss; I always find it quite entertaining to stir up trouble with those dastardly Poochyena, and secondly, I noticed your scarf and rescue team badge," he answered, bowing slightly with a grin.

Flash looked at her badge, and then at Francis. "My badge?" she asked dumbfounded.

Francis muttered something about dim-witted fire-types, but then looked at her with a wide smile. "I would like to ask you if I could be part of your rescue team," he said, tugging his whisker again. "Is not much of a team with a sole member, is it?" he added.

Flash put her paws on her hips, looking at the Rattata. "Well, I _do_ have a team mate. A Machop." Before Francis could get a chance to reply, she quickly added, "He's resting at my place, hypnosis issue."

Francis lifted a paw. "Though, it is very unwise and dangerous to explore dungeons on your own, miss-"

"I have a name," Flash interrupted, "it's Flash!"

Francis bowed again, "My apologies, miss Flash, it was rude of me to not let you introduce yourself," he excused. "Say, Miss Flash the Charmander, that name does ring a bell, doesn't it?" he then said, looking into her eyes.

Flash's eyes widened and raised a paw, gesturing Francis to stop. "No, it does_ not_!" she growled. The Rattata shrugged as he rolled his eyes. "Why do you want to join anyways?"

"Your team is not the first team which has gotten the request of mine, Miss Flash, I have been turned down many times due to my low strength," he told her, looking down slightly. "My family line was always born with blunt fangs, almost useless for physical combat. Though my family line inherits the Flame Wheel attack of which I know as well."

Flash put her paw to her chin, rubbing it a little. "A Rattata with an inherent fire attack?" she wondered.

"Indeed!" Francis almost burst out with happiness. "My great, great grandfather was indeed an Arcanine who passed on the move. We have been very proud of it, as few of the born Rattata actually did possess it."

"But you knowing _one_ fire attack isn't that much of a helper!" objected Flash, "I'm a fire type!"

Francis responded by tugging his whisker. "Ah, yes, miss Flash. I have heard that argument often, but while most Rattata rely on their sharp fangs, my kind relies on pure intelligence and strategy. I did state I was an item specialist, did I not?" he explained, earning a nod from Flash. "I have developed a higher special attack to utilize my fire ability, to compensate my blunt fangs. But for the icing on the cake, Miss Flash, I have knowledge of every Pokémon's strengths and weaknesses!"

This caught Flash's attention. _"Maybe this rat could be beneficial to the team…"_ she thought.

"I see you are considering," said Francis excitedly, smiling widely again.

Flash looked at him suspiciously. She started to wonder how much the highly intellectual Rattata would have for advantages, sure, it'd be a nice relief from Loopy's incoherent sentences, and having someone who can point out the various weaknesses the Pokémon they're fighting could prove useful. Though, Francis looked rather weak and fragile.

She then crossed her short arms, smiling. "You can count yourself in, Francis of Bun… uh… Bundleteeth…" she said, sounding embarrassed already.

Francis just chuckled. "Bluntentooth, Miss Flash, but just Francis will do. It really enlightens me now that I finally am a member of a rescue team. It will bring pride and honour to the Bluntentooth family!"

Flash scratched the back of her head, smiling awkwardly. "I hope you don't require salary, since I'm a little short on Poké…"

Francis frowned suddenly. "Miss Flash," he started rather seriously, "I requested to become a team member, not a mercenary."

"Oh… sorry," she muttered, looking away briefly. "Should we go now? There's a pair of Magnemite further into this cave that has been stuck together who need help."

Francis nodded. "Well, Miss Flash, without any further ado then, this way!" he said excitedly, walking off further into the cave.

* * *

It didn't take much time until Flash and Francis found the Magnemite pair. Thanks to Francis' knowledge of Thunderwave cave they both were able to avoid unnecessary encounters.

"THANK ZAPDOS YOU'RE HERE!" the first beeped loudly, looking a little aggravated. "I CAN'T STAND BEING LITERALLY STUCK WITH THIS MAGNEMITE!"

Both Flash and Francis looked at each other awkwardly and sweatdropped with a sigh. They walked up to the two Pokémon and examined them shortly.

"So what's the plan, Francis?" asked Flash, looking at the happy Magnemite and the irritated one. "Pull them apart?" she suggested.

Francis shook his head. "Would not work, Miss Flash, the magnetic field here is too strong for us to be able to pull them form each other, I believe."

"Wouldn't it hurt to try?" she suggested once more.

Francis responded by tugging his whisker while clearing his throat. "Ahem, even if we _would_ succeed in pulling them apart, the magnetic field would pull them together again."

The irritated Magnemite started to get impatient. "PLEASE! COULD YOU HURRY?"

"WHAT? BZZT, BZZT. YOU DON'T STAND ME, SPARKYHEAD?" the other Magnemite shot back, angered at his friend stuck with him.

The first Magnemite glared at the other one with its sole eye. "YOU CALL ME SPARKYHEAD? YOU'RE THE ONE 'BZZING' ALL THE TIME!" it argued. And it didn't take long before they started yelling at each other, trying to detach themselves from each other.

A pair of fireballs in form of a dual Ember attack struck them both, knocking them flat to the ground.

"I've HAD IT with this darn cave!" Flash roared, smoke coming out of her nostrils as she glared at the now scared Magnemite. "You should be happy that I'm here to rescue your sorry asses! You better follow me and Francis out of this effing cave NOW!" she yelled as she stomped her foot on the ground in fury.

The Magnemite just stared right into her eyes in fear.

"Language, Miss Flash, it is not quite polite to yell at your clients," scolded Francis as he scowled at Flash. She just snorted and turned her back towards him. "Magnemite, are you coming? Maybe we could help you outside the cave," Francis then suggested to the electric/steel types who nodded in reply. Turning to Flash, who still refused to look at him, he patted her on her back with his paw. "Shall we be off, Miss Flash?"

Flash sighed, "Whatever…"

* * *

Again, with Francis experience of Thunderwave cave, they managed to get outside safely were they met up with the other Magnemite.

"Finally…" Flash sighed as she sat down. "You think it's okay to try pulling them from each other now, Francis?" she asked.

The Rattata put one of his paws to his lower jaw, as if rubbing his chin. "I think it would be a good, idea, yes," he muttered, walking up to the two Magnemite. He rose up and stood on his back paws, leaning his front paws on the Magnemite.

Flash got to her feet and walked up to the other Magnemite, getting a firm grip on it.

"BZZT! OW! MY EYE!" it beeped as Flash accidentally had gripped its eye. She hastily reaffirmed her grip and with Francis help she pulled the two Magnemite off each other.

"FINALLY! ONE MORE MINUTE WITH YOU AND I WOULD EXPLODED!" it beeped happily, emitting a sigh from its nonexistent mouth as it hovered around with its friends, while the other one floated around absentmindedly.

Flash struck a tired pose. "Another job well done… I guess," she muttered.

"Indeed!" replied Francis.

The Magnemite group neared the two Pokémon with a happy expression. "HERE IS YOUR REWARD FOR A JOB WELL DONE, CHARMANDER," it gratefully said, dropping a small pile of Poké and two seeds in front of the two Pokémon.

Flash bent down and scooped up everything. She counted the Poké, counting up to two hundred, and recognized the two seeds as Reviver seeds.

"Thanks," she said gratefully to the magnet Pokémon, who nodded to her as they sailed off.

"So, Miss Flash," started Francis, getting her attention. "Where shall we be off? Are you in possession of a living quarter?"

Flash stared at him while sweat dropping. "Uh, yeah, it's outside the town," she replied, "You coming along?" she then proceeded to ask.

"Why, yes, I am a member now, you see," he gladly replied with a smile as they both started walking towards Flash's shack.

* * *

The sky had changed colour from the dull grey to a more orangey grey as the sun was setting. The Charmander and Rattata were in front of the rescue team base of Team Brawl. It was eerily silent as the wind silently whispered in the air.

Francis tilted his head, staring at the shack in wonder. "Maybe I was too desperate…"

Flash let out a surprised cough. "Excuse me? This is my house, and at least it has a roof!" She snapped. Francis just rolled his eyes. The Charmander stomped towards her house, entering to see the Machop still sleeping in her bed made of hay. Sighing, she showed where Francis could sleep inside the shack, and he nodded in response.

She was tired, and it wasn't usual for her to be tired this early in the evening, but she figured that rescuing Pokémon actually took some energy of the day. As Francis curled up in his corner, Flash walked over to her corner, lifting a plank to reveal her secret storage box where she hid her Toolbox. Putting back the plank, she noticed that Francis had already fallen asleep.

She turned to look at Loopy, who still slept deeply. She walked up to him and picked up the piece of cloth and tucked him in so he wouldn't be too cold in case next morning would be a cold one. He mumbled a little in his sleep, but then turned in his sleep to lie at a better position.

Smiling, she walked over to her small pile of hay as she lay down to sleep.


	16. My Mail!

_**Chapter XVI: My Mail!**_

When Flash woke up this day, the bright rays of sunlight that shone through the window told her it was a nice day today. Though she still felt tired, and remained in her little bed of hay, staring up at the ceiling. Putting her arms behind her head for the use of pillows, she let out a long sigh.

"_Man, being in a rescue team sure is tiring,"_ she thought, wondering how long she'd slept, but she was certain that it was pretty late in the morning, if not close to noon.

Putting herself together, she sat up groggily and stretched out her arms before scratching her back with a yawn. She looked at where Francis the Rattata had slept, but weren't there. She wondered why he had run off all of a sudden. She let her gaze sweep over to where Loopy slept but found out that he wasn't there either.

This caused her to snap awake at an instant. She jumped off her bed and ran outside her house to see if he was outside, hoping the hypnosis two days ago had worked.

As she exited her house and saw the clear blue sky, she noticed Loopy holding a big boulder over his head with both arms, bending his knees in a steady rhythm. He had his back turned towards Flash, unaware of her presence.

"Hey, Loopy," she awkwardly greeted, keeping her guard up in case he'd rush at her.

The Machop stopped his training, his back still turned towards her. "Flash," he replied.

There was a short uneasy silence before the Machop put down the boulder, his back still facing Flash. He then span around with a great smile on his face. "Lazy Flash sleep much! Good day for train!" he happily burst out.

Flash lowered her guard and returned Loopy's smile with a wide one. Despite him being hard to talk with, it made her oddly happy to know that Loopy was back to normal. "Loopy!" she cried happily as she ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

Loopy looked confusedly at her as she hugged him. "Why Flash hug?" he asked, scratching his head. "Flash no like hug."

Flash looked up into his confused eyes, loosening her hug. "It's just that you're back to your usual self," she just said.

Loopy guffawed slapped his hands around Flash, returning the hug with a tighter one. "Me always me! What Flash talk about?" he laughed as he lifted Flash up in his hug, spinning around and dancing with her.

Realizing that it wasn't really wise to hug the Machop, she stopped her hug to push Loopy off her, but she had already encouraged him too much. Loopy giggled at her attempts to get off of him, and pressed his head against her chest, nuzzling it.

"Loopy!" Flash yelled, "Let go!" She managed to put both of her paws at Loopy's head and tried pushing it to make him let go of her.

"No!" Loopy shot back, smiling widely. "First Flash want hug, and now not!" He hugged even tighter, not noticing Flash wheezing.

"Damnit!" Flash cursed, lowering her paws to grab onto Loopy's arms in an attempt to separate them to ease up her breathing. Giving up quickly, she realized there was only one thing left to do. She used all her strength to inhale and spat out an Ember right at Loopy's face.

At the instant the fireball connected to Loopy's face, he threw Flash off him and clutched his face. Flash regained her breath as she slowly got to her feet. She looked at Loopy who still covered his face in his hands.

He then removed the hands, revealing a quite sooty, smiling face. "Flash learn fire. That be good!" He gave her thumbs up. Flash just looked at him oddly.

"You're not angry I blew a fireball at your face?"

Loopy shook his head. "Hug maybe too hard," he said, rubbing off the last of the soot. "But good Flash breathe fire! Flash good train!" he commended as he clapped his hands. After that, he walked towards the boulder and picked it up to use it as a weight. He began heaving it up and down in his training.

Flash sighed and shook her head. She came to think of Francis, and wondered where he had left off. "Hey, Loopy," she said, getting Loopy's attention. "Have you seen Francis?"

Loopy balanced the boulder with one hand as he scratched his head. "Who be Francis?"

"Oh, yeah, you haven't met him. He's a Rattata, in case you've seen him," Flash filled in for him.

Loopy snapped his finger with his free hand, cracking a grin. "Me find purple rat. Chase away!" he proudly said, thumping his chest once.

Flash put her paw against her forehead, sighing in exasperation. "That was Francis, dummy! He's our newest member of Team Brawl!" she growled. "And now you chased him away?"

"Umm…" Loopy carefully put down the boulder, putting his hands innocently behind his back. "Sorry…" he muttered, looking down slightly.

Flash anger was quickly replaced with guilt as she stared at the Machop. She casually walked up him and patted his back. "Don't worry, you didn't know. Let's hope we'll find him, okay?" she then said softly.

"Finding me would not be that much of a problem, I believe," someone said from behind the shack. Both Flash and Loopy looked towards the shack to see Francis come out from behind, tugging his whisker. "Quite rude of you to chase me away, Machop," he spat, sending a brief glare towards the fighting type.

"Me sorry," Loopy apologized. Francis just scoffed as he approached the two.

Flash quickly walked in between the two and gestured towards Francis. "Loopy, this is Francis, and Francis, this is Loopy," she introduced them both to each other, but Francis seemed insulted right away.

"Miss Flash, I will have you know that when you introduce me to your acquaintances, you introduce me as 'Francis of Bluntentooth IV Junior', _especially_ to the unintelligent likes of him!" he snorted, glaring both at Flash and Loopy.

Loopy frowned at the Rattata and put his hands on his hips. "What make Ratsy angry?" he smugly asked.

Both of Francis whiskers stiffed up as his red eyes widened at what Loopy had said. "R-Ratsy?" he first said, as if a word unknown to him. "_RATSY?_" He roared, which actually sounded amusing coming from a rat Pokémon. "Why you inferior form of muscle who cannot construct a coherent sentence!" he yelled, scratching the ground in anger.

Loopy cracked a mean grin as he pounded his fist into his palm. "Want fight?" he asked as he rubbed his fist.

"Hey, HEY!" Flash yelled. "No fighting, Loopy, or I'll tickle ya!" Loopy looked at her and crossed his arm, pouting. Seeing that Loopy and Francis didn't start out too well, she thought of another thing. "Let's see if we got a job offer," she then said, walking off to the mailbox.

"Afraid nothing is there, Miss Flash," Francis noted, not taking his glare of Loopy, "Nothing but a wooden stick permanently stuck inside."

"_Why must everybody make such a big deal about that?"_ thought Flash, sighing. "Francis, you where up earlier than me, did you spot Pelipper delivering the mail?" she asked. Francis shook his head.

Grunting, Flash kicked the ground, kicking up some dust in the process. She figured that Pelipper was mad at yesterday's event when he hit his beak on the wooden stick in the mailbox when he delivered mail.

As if on cue, they all heard a familiar flapping sound of the delivery Pelipper. As the water bird Pokémon swept over the team base, Flash called for him to come down, and he sighed.

"What is it? I'm getting behind my schedule!"

Flash scratched the back of her head nervously as she started speaking. "Sorry to bother you, Mr. Pelipper, but did you forget to deliver mail to me?"

Pelipper responded by quickly flapping his wings, some feathers flying off in the process. "Of course I have!" he spat, "Look at my beak! I hit my beak on that wooden pole in that death trap of a mailbox _again_! Isn't that clear evidence enough that I did my job?" He spread his wings and took off, grumbling loudly about ungrateful Charmander and wooden poles.

There was an awkward silence after that. Francis lifted one of his paws and rubbed his lower jaw.

"After thinking over this situation, there would be only one answer to this problem," he concluded with a solemn stare directed towards the Charmander. "Someone must have gotten the mail before us."

Flash jumped once in shock, instantly sowing a pissed off grimace. "WHAT?" she screamed, stomping furiously on the ground while throwing a fit of rage. "HOW DARE ANYONE STEAL FROM ME? HOW CAN ANYONE STEAL AT ALL, WAIT UNTIL I GET MY CLAWS ON THAT SORRY ASS WHO STOLE MY MAIL!" she screamed as loud as she could.

"Flash fun," said Loopy, laughing at her fit. "Some steal from Flash, when Flash steal self!"

Flash snapped her head towards him, glaring brightly at him. "Loopy… Shut. Up!" she growled, her whole body trembling in fury. Loopy just laughed.

"Why Flash jumpy?" he asked. "Maybe hug help?" he suggested, spreading his arms wide.

"No, no, NO!" Flash yelled as she stomped the ground at the same rhythm as her yell.

Francis shook his head slowly, placing his front paw on his forehead. "Maybe I was too desperate in joining a rescue team…" He sighed. "I can feel my intelligence quotient sinking just by watching those two," he muttered to himself.

"No, Loopy, no hugs!" cried Flash, running away from the hug happy Machop.

"Hug now, adventure later!" he said happily with a broad smile across his face, running after Flash who constantly changed directions to prevent him catching up.

Flash was quickly getting tired of this, and pulled off a manoeuvre by stopping dead and using her tail to trip Loopy so he fell head over heels to the ground with a loud thud. "No, Loopy, no adventure! Someone stole our mail!"

Loopy rubbed his head and looked at her. "Mail important?" he asked, tilting his head with an inquisitive look on his eyes. Flash nodded.

"No mail, no adventure," she concluded, looking sternly into Loopy's eyes. The Machop sighed and lay down on his back, looking up at the clear sky.

"No fun," he muttered, sad eyes staring emptily at the sky.

Flash sensed his disappointment and sighed. She looked at where Francis was and saw him scribbling the ground with his paws. She curiously looked at the various symbols the Rattata had drawn.

"This, Miss Flash, is a complicated calculation of how a gravelerock would travel if you used the angle x of this wall I drew here, and using y percent power on throwing the gravelerock itself with the rotation speed of z," he explained in one long sentence. "Simple, is it not?"

Flash sweatdropped; she had no idea how _that_ could be used to her advantage.

"Me have idea!" Loopy burst out, standing up. "Go to Post Office! There mail adventure!"

Francis sighed. "Care to translate, Miss Flash? Such primitive speaking risks harming my superior intellect if I attempted to translate it." He grinned smugly towards the fighting type, who just looked back at him in confusion.

"He meant that we could go to the billboard by the Post Office and find some job offers there," she replied, and Francis nodded.

"Yay! Fun!" Loopy cried as he bolted of towards the town before Flash or Francis could stop him.

The two sighed. "There is no stopping him, is there?" said Francis plainly. Flash shook her head.

"There's another thing I need to do in town, wait here," she said as she went inside her house. Inside, she went to the corner and lifted the plank to her secret storage and reached for her metal box. Taking it out from the hole, she opened it and took out a total of one thousand Poké from it and put the box in the hole again.

She took the money and put it into her Toolbox, exiting her house right after. She gestured Francis to follow her as they went to the town.

* * *

When Francis and Flash entered the town, Loopy wasn't to be found nearby.

"You should keep your claws to yourself, Miss Flash," Francis suggested suddenly.

Flash shot him a glare. "What'cha mean?" she snapped, smoke coming out from her nostrils.

Francis started tugging his whisker, cracking a mug grin. "It recently came to the knowledge of mine that you are that kleptomaniac Charmander."

"_How_ did you know that, Francis?" she spat, stomping the ground once while glaring at him.

The Rattata chuckled. "Well, it occurred to me that your father is indeed very famous, also being known for having a kleptomaniac daughter which-"

"SHUT UP!"

Francis' smug grin instantly faltered upon that outburst. He looked at the enraged Charmander blankly as she was breathing heavily. "I take it that you do not want to talk abo-"

"No!" she snapped.

"I understand." Francis lowered his head, "my deepest apologies, Miss Flash. Though I still have to advise you to keep your claws to yourself, and stay away from anything within stealing range."

Flash grumbled, holding back the urge to let loose of a volley of Ember blasts on the Rattata. "Let's go to Kangaskhan's storage!"

"Pardon?" said Francis, "did you not get what I warned you about accidental stealing?"

Flash sighed, shooting Francis an exasperated glare. "Yes, I got what you said, Francis, I just need to see her right now," she said as she started walking towards the Town Square.

Francis rolled his eyes as he followed the Charmander.

However, as they neared the Town Square, they heard that there was a commotion nearby. The two chose to ignore it, but when they saw Loopy being held aloft by his neck by a familiar Golduck.

"Dumb ducky! Let go!" he growled while trying to hit the Golduck. Along with the water type stood a Slakoth scratching his head tiredly.

The Golduck looked calmly in Loopy's eyes as he firmly held him by the neck with one hand effortlessly. His other clawed hand was on his hip, giving him an arrogant and superior stance. He spotted Flash and Francis and turned his head towards them.

"We meet again, little Charmander," he greeted with a smile. The Slakoth just waved tiredly before almost falling asleep.

Flash recognized the two Pokémon as Lucifer and Fenton of Team Cutthroat. "Let him go!" she shouted at the Golduck.

Lucifer chuckled, shifting his look from Flash to Loopy. "He attacked us again, Charmander, from behind to be exact," he replied, adjusting his white bandana on his head.

"Ducky no truth tell! Me no look when run!" Loopy protested, still trying to pry himself off the water type's slimy hand.

"He's normal now, let him go!" demanded Flash, staring intensively into Lucifer's eyes.

Lucifer looked at the struggling Machop and then at Flash, and then at Loopy again. Without warning, he easily tossed Loopy towards Flash, and he landed right on her in a heap.

The leader of Team Cutthroat then crossed his arms and looked down at the three Pokémon with scornful arrogance. "You're not taking this seriously, are you?"

Flash pushed Loopy off her and got up. "Taking _what_ seriously?" she snarled, looking up at the Golduck.

"A rescue team, Charmander, is to be taken seriously. Every time I've seen you, you've been fooling around like an idiot. Aren't you supposed to be doing rescues?" he sternly said.

Francis stepped forward, facing Lucifer. "For your interest, dear water type, as our mailbox has been raided by some rascals, we are unfortunately without rescues for the moment. And are you not contradicting yourself by the statement of not doing rescues?" Francis smugly tugged his whisker.

Lucifer responded by chuckling and wagging one of his fingers. "The smartest one of the bunch, aren't you? For your interest, Rattata, one of my team members are picking up some items from Kangaskhan's storage as we're headed for Mt Thunder to stop a war between to clans."

Francis took one more step towards Lucifer, not taking his stare of him. "Oh, is that so? Then maybe you could show me some decisive evidence to your claim then?" he smugly asked.

Lucifer let his confident gaze sweep over to Fenton, who had fallen asleep standing and went through his team's Toolbox. Out from it he picked up a letter with the details. After checking it, Francis sighed in defeat.

"Yoo-hoo!" came a familiar, almost feminine voice from the Kangaskhan's storage, "I got the items we need for the rescue, Lucifer!"

Flash clenched her paws; she immediately knew who it was. She turned her head to see the ever-so-pompous Sneasel Narcis with a small bag in his paws. He noticed her as well and flashed a grin towards her.

Loopy sat down, being tired of the boring conversation, but looked at the sleeping Slakoth for his own little entertainment.

Francis, however, stiffened up completely when he heard the voice of Narcis. It seemed that he was clutching the ground with his paws as his ears and tail stood straight up.

It wasn't until the Sneasel gave the stuff to Lucifer he noticed the Rattata. "Ah, as the ugly Team Filth couldn't get anymore uglier," he teased, flicking his ear.

"You…" Francis said lowly. This surprised Flash.

"You know each oth-"

"_Silence_, Miss Flash!" hissed Francis, still glaring at Narcis. "Narcis von Sharpenslash II," he then addressed with a great difficulty to keep his cool.

Narcis scratched his cheeks, snickering. "Francis of Bluntentooth IV… We meet again."

Francis started to tremble in pure hatred. "Junior, you vicious little Sneasel!" he spat.

Narcis just laughed, unsheathing both of his wickedly long claws. "Silly me, I admit, the older Francis isn't of this world anymore. Stricken down by a beautiful fighter, which of course is me," he told the Rattata as he flicked his ear with his claw once more.

Loopy got to his feet when the Sneasel had unsheathed the claws, and put up his fists as he kept a fixed stare at the dark type. "Mean black kitty want fight?" he growled, punching the air a couple of times.

"No," said Francis as he gestured towards Loopy to stand back, "even though your advantage over the likes of _him_ is vastly superior, I must alert you that this is between him and me."

"Narcis," interjected Lucifer, "our clients are waiting, so please, could you take this bicker with this Francis another day?" he suggested, waking Fenton up again.

Narcis looked at his leader and sheathed his claws. "Well, seeing a Bluntentooth in a team ugly as _that_ certainly made my day," he said as he turned his back towards Francis, about to follow Lucifer's lead.

The Rattata stared at the departing Sneasel, gritting his teeth. "Oh, as far as I am informed, a Sharpenslash is nothing but beauty!" he snapped. Narcis stopped walking. "You're all a bunch of imbeciles, and here is the proof. The calculation of a Thunderwave attack towards a flying type where the damage will equal your points in intelligence does say itself."

Narcis chuckled, his back still facing Francis. "Still upset about Lancelot?"

Francis glared murderously at the Sneasel as he walked away. He almost clutched the ground as he stood there. In a very stiff movement, he turned to face Flash. "Miss Flash, I willl be at your quarters. If you happen to hear any fits of rage, think of it as the wind." With that, he left muttering curses.

The two Pokémon stared at the fuming Rattata. Loopy seized the opportunity and slapped her shoulder with one of his hands.

"Thank Flash, for help!" He clutched her shoulder and pulled her to him.

Flash resisted by trying to swat away his hand. "Yeah, yeah, save he thanks for later."

Loopy let go of her, and stopped smiling briefly. "Mean duck strong," he muttered as he rubbed his neck.

"Yeah, be careful with him. They're supposedly a high ranked team, so don't start any troubles with them, ok?" she told him. He nodded. She started walking towards the Kangaskhan's storage when Loopy suddenly grabbed a tight hold of one of her arms.

"No, no, no. Kangshkan maybe still angry!" he warned.

Flash pulled herself free from Loopy's grasp, frowning at him. "I need to see her. If you don't want to, then wait outside. And stay there!"

It wasn't too far to the storage, and they were soon outside it. The ripped out door was still leaning against the wall. Flash told Loopy once again to wait outside as she went inside.

Kangaskhan immediately noticed her as she entered the storage, and shot her a glare.

"I got some of the payment, Kangaskhan," she muttered, looking down. Kangaskhan's glare brightened up with a smile at those words. She clasped her big paws together excitedly.

"How much?" she asked eagerly.

Flash dug through her Toolbox and picked up all of the Poké inside, putting them on the counter. "You count'em."

The brown Pokémon started counting the money, and then put them in a small box. "A whole thousand," she commended, "you're doing fairly well so far."

Flash cast a brief look at her paws to ensure she didn't have anything in them. "Uh, yeah… You still mad at Loopy?"

Kangaskhan put her paws on her hips. "Indeed I am, that door isn't easy to fix, and I can't leave this storage unattended at night. I have to live inside here now!" she muttered, casting a glance towards the entrance.

Flash didn't want to hear any more of the bigger Pokémon's ranting, so she was about to take leave from the storage to meet up with Loopy. She said goodbye to Kangaskhan and left.

Outside, she found Loopy sitting, looking bored. "Hey," she said, getting his attention. He smiled and jumped to his feet, eager as ever.

"Now find adventure!" he chirped as he grabbed a hold of Flash's arm, tugging it as he began walking towards the Post Office. However, he tugged a bit too hard and caused her to trip. "Oh… sorry!" he apologized smiling at the downed Charmander.

Normally, Flash would've snapped. But this time she smiled a little herself as she got up and brushed the dirt off her. She felt better now as a part of the debt was paid off, and she felt that at this pace, she'd be over with the debt in no time.

"DAMN YOU SHARPENSLASH, DAMN YOU ALL!" a loud bellow boomed through the air. Flash and Loopy, and pretty much every Pokémon in the vicinity stared up in the air wondering what that was. Though, Flash knew it had to be Francis throwing a fit of rage at her house.

Loopy crossed his arms. "Ratsy angry," he said. "Next see black kitty, punch down!" He punched the air.

"Save that for later," said Flash, patting his shoulder, "let's find a job offer!" She ran off with Loopy following her laughing.

They sped through the square, and passed many Pokémon, some were still pondering about Francis's outburst, and some minding their business. Loopy was slowly gaining on Flash as his longer legs enabled him to run faster, but the Charmander didn't want to be bested this time so she tried running faster.

She accidentally rant straight into a Totodile and bounced off him. Loopy caught her before she hit the ground.

"Flash careful. No good run on Pokémon!" he warned with a smile, putting her on the ground. The Totodile, however had hit the ground and his two lackeys, a Pichu and a Magby, were helping him up.

"Groaning Gyarados!" the Totodile barked as he faced Flash after getting up. "Watch yar step or ye ought to be keelhauled!" He adjusted his bandana so it was covering his left eye completely.

Flash backed away a little from the water type. "I'm, uh, sorry, Totodile. But we were in a hurry to get to the billboard to get a job offer."

Totodile picked up a small envelope and gave a nasty smile. "The billboard has been scavenged!" he burst out, "this here's the last of the offers!"

"Aw, shucks," Flash muttered as her head dropped down in a long sigh. She turned to Loopy and shook her head. "No adventure today then…"

Loopy just smiled. "Worry no, use free day for training!"

"Eh, mateys?" interjected Totodile, "Were ye also without job offers this morning?" he then asked.

Flash and Loopy looked at him. "Yeah, how'd you know?" she replied.

"Some no good rascals pilfered arr mailbox! Revenge shall be sweet when I catch those scurvy pilferers! ARR!" Totodile roared.

"No way!" Flash exclaimed. "That happened to us too!"

"YARRR!" Totodile once more roared. "These ruffians shall walk the plank aftarr being keelhauled as long as my name is Dieter the Dreaded!"

Flash stared at the Totodile named Dieter, sweat dropping in the process. "Dee- terr?" she said slowly, trying to pronounce it correctly.

"Dieter…?" said Loopy, thinking a little. "Dieter…" he repeated lowly to himself. Afterwards he just shrugged and smiled.

Dieter the Dreaded, however, didn't like the expression of both members of Team Brawl, and growled in response. "Grawr! Me mateys and I have no more time for drabble! We shall be off for a meagre delivery request." Dieter beckoned his fellow team members and headed straight towards the exit of the town.

"Well, Loopy, what now?" asked Flash.

Loopy thought for a moment. "Go see Ratsy, he have idea if so smart," he said with a slight disgust.

Flash laughed at that and nodded afterwards. "Sounds like a plan, Loopy! Maybe he has an idea of what to do, besides training, of course." She nudged Loopy's arm and walked off with him following.


	17. Such a bickering day

A/N: Oh my, now it seems that it's Francis of Bluntentooth IV Junior's turn to announce the chapters.

_**Chapter XVII: Such a bickering day…**_

Francis the Rattata was at Flash's house, wandering around fuming. He muttered curses about the Sneasel Narcis von Sharpenslash II, and scratched the ground every now and then. To lighten up his anger, and avoid further outbursts, he started drawing a calculation on the sandy ground. He started forming a diagram and drew some lines, and then he wrote up some numbers. He then scribbled some dirt over the lines and drew new one, curving them.

But as he was drawing the other line, the smug face of Narcis popped up in his mind. Gritting his teeth, he accidentally drew the line wrong and messed up his calculation entirely. He cursed again as he scratched the ground repeatedly, ruining the calculation. He snorted as he started fuming again, his fur bristling up.

He took a few breaths to try calming himself down. He then licked his fur a little, to make sure he was clean if Flash and Loopy was to come.

And as if on cue, the twosome came with Flash having a rather grim look on her face, while Loopy had his usual happy one.

"Greetings, Miss Flash," Francis greeted, "have you found any offers?"

Flash shook her head and sighed. The Rattata's ears lowered a little in unison with his whiskers.

"But worry no!" Loopy burst out with his happy smile. "Use day for training!"

Francis glanced at the Machop, frowning a bit. "And what would you suggest using as training equipment?" he inquired, tugging his whisker slowly.

Loopy laughed and walked up to his favourite boulder. He picked it up easily and began heaving it up and down. "Use rock! Good training!" he said while heaving the boulder.

Francis snorted and held up a paw, disregarding what Loopy said. "Of course I should not have expected more of the likes of you, Neanderthal," he muttered.

"What Nandetal?" Loopy asked as he paused his training. Francis cracked a grin as he tugged his whisker.

"Why, that is the definition of a prehistoric human race which does not exist to this day. Distinct features of those humans where robust bodies and a big, seemingly rock hard cranium. That description does not stray far from you, I believe."

Flash sat down and grumbled, not liking the subject.

Loopy put down the boulder and rubbed his chin in his thinking stance. "But if Nandetal no exist, how me Nandetal?" he asked the normal type, tilting his head a little.

Francis let go of his whisker and stared at the Machop. He had been outwitted by Loopy and cursed himself quietly for letting off such a rash insult. "Of course not, Loopy, though I more referred to your inability to form coherent sentences," he retaliated. Seeing Loopy's confused expression, he decided to continue on. "Yes, you do indeed act as one prehistoric human. It would not surprise me if you actually _are_ a human. You are quite as stupid as one," he finished with poison in his voice.

Loopy's happy face quickly faltered into a frown. He chucked the boulder over Francis, almost hitting the mailbox, and stomped towards him. "Me no stupid!" he yelled, punching a fist into his palm.

Flash ran up to Loopy and tried pushing him back, but only found herself skidding in the same direction Loopy was walking. "Crap, I forgot I can't hold you back!" she squeaked. Loopy picked up Flash and put her next to him, continuing to walk to the Rattata who stood firmly on his ground.

"Of course the likes of you always retort to brute force when the arguments are lacking," he calmly said, tugging his whisker arrogantly. He flicked the whisker from his grip, staring the Machop down. "And since only imbeciles retort to brute force, that makes you one."

Loopy dashed forward and attempted a hard punch at the Rattata, but Francis hopped away swiftly. Before he could attack again, Flash jumped onto him from behind and tried to pull him back. He quickly shook her off and turned to her.

"Why hinder? Ratsy mean!" he protested, and Francis gave off a cry in exasperation.

"For the love of Mew, the name is Francis!" he shouted.

Loopy blew the Rattata a raspberry, and Flash ran in front of him so she was in the between of the two. "Loopy, stop it now or I'll tickle ya!" Loopy backed away, not taking his glare off Francis. "And Francis, stop acting superior all the time! He's got some speech impediments, okay?"

Francis scoffed, and turned is nose upwards in a distinguishing manner. "Well, Miss Flash, it would certainly be an easy feat if I was not superior over you two. But as the fact stands, I clearly am the superior when it comes to intelligence quotient, there is really no reason why I should not act superior," he told her, tugging his whiskers.

Flash clenched her paws and gritted her teeth in anger. She let out an angry growl as she looked at the Rattata. "Why you little ratty bully!" she yelled.

"Ho ho ho," Francis laughed, "A ratty bully, you say?" He rubbed his lower jaw with his front paw, grinning. "I wonder what that would look like."

Flash stomped over to the pouting Loopy and grabbed his hand, tugging him towards where Francis was. "Now you shake hands with Francis, Loopy, and say his name right!" She pointed at Francis, who was still pondering. The Machop crossed his arms and looked away. "I'll tickle you if you don't!" she threatened. Loopy grumbled and held out his hand for a handshake.

Francis, however, was still pondering. "A Tauros bred with a Raticate?" he said out loud. Instantly, his eyes widened at the thought. He looked at Loopy's hand, and then at Loopy. "What now, Neanderthal?"

Loopy withdrew his hand, using it to scratch his head. "Yes, why Flash want me shake hand?" he said as he looked at Flash with his inquisitive eyes.

Flash put her paw to her forehead and sighed, close to popping a vein. "It's a sign of forgiving!" she quickly said. Loopy just tilted his head in further confusion. "It's as if to say you're sorry!" she added.

Loopy put his hands on his hips. "But Franny-sis mean! Name me Nandetal when no Nandetal!" he protested, looking down at Flash.

Flash growled and raised her paws, pouncing onto Loopy whilst tickling for all she was worth. "Now you go apologize to Francis for what you've done or I'll tickle ya until you pass out, Loopy!" she yelled, tickling and avoiding any attempts from Loopy to grab her.

Francis just watched. "Kids…" he muttered.

* * *

Later, when Flash had stopped tickling Loopy and he had complied with her demands, Loopy and Francis stood and faced each other. The Machop held out his hand again, and Francis held out his paw to accept the handshake.

"Me sorry, Francis," Loopy apologized, grabbing the rat Pokémon's paw.

Francis responded with a faint smile. "I suppose I should accept the apology whilst also giving you one, Loopy," he said as Loopy let go of his paw. "Whereas I got the intelligence, it is always good to have some kind of force, which Miss Flash seems to be lacking."

"Hey!" Flash snapped, fumes coming out of her ears, "I can breathe fire, you know!"

Francis scoffed, "So can I, Miss Flash. But you also have some physical capabilities, which I sadly do not."

"Damn right!"

"Language, Miss."

Loopy laughed and picked Francis up, giving him a hug. "It fun when Francis is friend!" he burst out, keeping the hug tight.

"Agh! Loopy! Let me down at this instant!" he snapped, and Loopy let go of him.

Flash crossed her arms, shaking her head. "Now you know how I feel when Loopy gets too happy…" Francis just snorted as he wiped the dust off him. "With that settled, it's time to-"

"YAR PILFERING CHARMANDER!" someone roared. The three Pokémon looked at the direction of where the voice came from and saw the Totodile Dieter and his two team members of Team Juvens. They all looked upset, especially Dieter.

Flash sighed. "What do you guys want?"

Dieter stomped forward, keeping a harsh glare at her. Flash was unsure what to do, and looked at Loopy. When Dieter was in front of her, he snapped once with his jaws. "Where is arr job offar?" he snarled. Flash stepped back slightly, only causing Dieter to snarl more. Loopy ran up to the between of the two, lightly pushing Dieter away.

"Dieter no hurt Flash," he said as he stared the Totodile in the eye.

"Ye are scurvy scoundrel, says I! This Charmander stole arr job offar!" he replied, waving his clawed paw at him. Loopy's stare changed into a more confused one.

He turned to Flash. "Flash steal again?"

Flash glanced at her Toolbox and put it down, opening it and dug through its contents. She picked up a letter that somehow had managed to make its way into the sturdy box. "Ehm, how did this get here?" she said awkwardly. Dieter rushed up to her and snatched the letter out of her paws.

"Thundering storms and Rampaging Rapidash! Ye lucky this time, lass, nary a soul pilfers from Dieter the Dreaded!" he barked proudly. He turned to face his team members, but caught Loopy's studying face looking at him.

"Dieter… talk odd."

"Hardy har," laughed Dieter, slapping Loopy's back. "Right person to speak!"

Loopy laughed loudly and slapped Dieter's back as well, putting too much force sending the Totodile to the ground.

"Captain! You okay?" the Pichu squeaked. The little mouse Pokémon quickly looked up at the Machop. "You meanie! No one knocks captain down without paying for it!" he proceeded to squeak as he tried building up electricity through his red dots on his cheek.

However, the third member of Team Juvens, the Magby, walked up to Pichu and put her hand on his head. "M'ybe you sh'ldn't use your Thundershock. You 'lways miss," she warned him. Pichu accidentally let out his electric attack and zapped Magby. Loopy yelped and hid behind Flash due to his fear of lightning.

Dieter got up and rubbed his back. He saw the scorched Magby and then looked at the Pichu next to her. "Roaring Rhydon! Did ye try out yer ThundARRshock again?" he asked the Pichu. Pichu fiddled a little with his small paws nervously.

"Y-you okay, Captain?" he warily squeaked.

Dieter sighed and nodded. "We have no time to bickARR! It's time to embark on arr job offarr.," he barked. "Some have yet to get job offarrs! Har har," he then laughed. The Pichu and Magby sighed simultaneously and followed Dieter's lead as he took off.

The three Pokémon from Team Brawl just stared at the leaving trio. Loopy stopped hiding behind Flash and scratched his head.

"Dieter much odd… little mousey and reddy too…"

Francis let off a chuckle, "For once I agree, Loopy."

Flash smiled faintly and turned to walk inside her shack. "I'm going for a rest," she muttered. Loopy shook his head and walked after her quickly to catch up. Once near, he grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her to the boulder he was lifting earlier.

"No rest. Free day, train!" he told her.

"But I already told you I don't train that way!" she argued, trying to pry the grip off her paw.

Loopy let go of her paw and walked up to the boulders and picked one up, putting it down next to another one, doing the same thing with another boulder. "Now, use fire to hit stone! And then far away!" he explained. Flash looked at him and understood what he meant.

Inhaling, and then spitting out an Ember, she hit the boulder, and the fireball quickly dissipated after hitting the rock. She spat out more fireballs, hitting the boulders repeatedly. "Hey, this is pretty fun!" she exclaimed, trying to spit out a bigger fireball, though it didn't make it all the way to the boulders. Loopy patted her back carefully, commending her attempts on training, and walked off to a stray boulder which he picked up himself, heaving it up and down.

Francis looked at the two, and tugged his whisker. "Well, I would like to predict I need no training for the time being, although I could practise my superior intellect," he mused as he drew a square on the dirt, beginning a complicated calculation.

After a short while of constant barrages of Ember attacks, Flash paused briefly to catch her breath. She looked over to Loopy and smiled. _"Quite typical for him to know how to train now… Fighting types,"_ she thought, turning back to the three boulders in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she prepared another barrage of Ember attacks. Spitting out with full force, she managed to pit out three fireballs, hitting all three boulders.

"Yes!" she triumphantly exclaimed. "None of you can match my firepower!"

Before she could unleash another barrage of Embers, a fierce, scorching ring of fire rolled past her and struck one of the boulders with enough force to send it rolling into the one next to it. Flash spun around to see Francis smirking.

"You really had to outdo me?" she snarled as her tail flame flared up. The Rattata smirked.

"Oh, my deepest apologies, Miss Flash, I am afraid I forgot to mention that the Flame Wheel is approximately fifty percent stronger than Ember, which states the attack being more powerful than yours," he explained while smugly tugging his whisker.

Flash growled at him, clenching her paws. "But you're just a Rattata!" she snapped.

Francis chuckled. "I expected those words from you, Miss Flash, but fear not if you were thinking that your fire attacks would be rendered inferior to mine, as I charge up my Flame Wheel in order to equalize the damage it would cause if it was launched from a fire type." He took a deep breath before he continued. "And that causes me to become fatigued faster than an ordinary fire type would. So while I can power my fire attacks up more efficiently than you, Miss Flash, you are able to last longer in a fire fight-"

"Blah, blah, blah!" interrupted Flash, "you talk too much! Go back to your little mathematic calcu-whatever and let me train my fire breath in peace!" she growled, spitting out a fireball at the closest boulder.

Loopy guffawed while balancing a boulder his size with one hand over his head. "Odd Francis, flame ratsy?" he said with a confused smile.

"Were you not aware of my fire abilities, Loopy? I could tell you later, as a complicated explanation of how it is possible for me to utilize fire attacks-" A fireball struck at the spot right next to the Rattata, startling him enough to shut up.

"Takes too much time…" muttered Flash, only to hear a sort laugh from Loopy as he tossed the boulder up with his hand and caught it with the other. Francis just snorted and went back to his calculation.

As Francis was near completion of his diagram, he started calculating the hypotenuse of the triangle it had created. However, as he begun doing that the ground began to shake. The tremor wasn't that strong, but right under Francis calculation it rumbled the most. Out of the ground pooped a trio of brown, mole like Pokémon that wobbled in unison.

"My calculation! Now I have to start all over again! Blasted Dugtrio!" Francis burst out.

Loopy put down the boulder and ran over to the Dugtrio, fists raised. "No scare Francis!" he shouted. Before Flash and Francis could stop him, Dugtrio disappeared into the ground, away from Loopy.

Dugtrio popped out from the ground behind Flash. "We apologize for our rude entrance," they started, scaring the Charmander, "But this is a bit of an emergency."

Flash turned around to face the trio, and looked down at them. "What emergency?" she asked. Loopy approached yet again, but was stopped by the Charmander.

Dugtrio looked warily at the Machop. "Our baby was taken away by a Skarmory!" they frantically told Flash, "It took him to the top of Mt. Steel!"

The Charmander's eyes lit up, finally a job offer, and quite bigger than the one those Juvens had. "Mt. Steel, you say?" she started, rubbing her lower jaw thoughtfully.

"That rescue should not be much of a problem, I believe. We both possess advantages against a Pokémon like Skarmory, don't we, Miss Flash?" Francis told Flash, tugging his whisker. She quickly nodded with a faint smile.

"Well, can you help us getting our baby back? We don't know what Skarmory might do!" Dugtrio frantically squeaked.

"What be Skaromy?" Loopy asked.

"A big metal like bird, Machop, it took our son, please help us, please!" Dugtrio pleaded.

Loopy stepped forward, thumping his chest. "We help!" he said, right before Flash could accept the offer.

Francis raised a paw. "Mr, Mrs Dugtrio, how urgent is this rescue offer? There might be a slight chance that we may have to prepare-"

"There is little time!" interrupted Dugtrio, "Mew knows what Skarmory will do to our baby!"

"I think they're right, Francis," sad Flash understandingly, "we could plan strategies along the way!"

"Supplies?" Francis questioned.

"Got'em! We got enough apples!" she replied. Francis grumbled a little, but then nodded.

Loopy scratched his head, not quite following the conversation between the two Pokémon. "So, adventure?" he asked.

Flash nodded and slapped his back. "Yes, Loopy, now we have an adventure!" she replied.


	18. Equation of Trouble I

_**Chapter XVIII: Equation of Trouble I**_

It was a late afternoon when the trio were in front of the ominous looking entrance of Mt. Steel. During the trip they had collected some essential items such as apples and Oran berries. As far as Flash was concerned, the supposed location of the Skarmory's and Diglett's whereabouts would be the summit at the other side of the cave they were facing. It'd be stupid to climb up one mountain, and down just to reach another mountain, so cutting through the cave would be faster.

Loopy was the first to sit down on the rock ground, adjusting his navy blue scarf he had put on before leaving the team base. He put down the Toolbox on the ground next to him and opened it, taking out an apple. He cheerfully ate the apple while Francis and Flash looked at him with irritated face expressions.

"Hungry," Loopy excused with a mouthful. "Flash want?"

Flash put her paw on her forehead, sighing. "You eat too much, Loopy."

The Machop swallowed. "But have much apples! And me eat older apple to leave room for fresh!" he replied, taking another bite right after.

Francis chuckled and tugged his whisker. "For being unable to form coherent sentences, you do get the point across indeed," he pointed out.

The ground started to rumble lightly before Dugtrio popped up from the ground by the cave entrance. The threesome ground type looked at Team Brawl. Flash crossed her arms and looked back at them.

"So, Dugtrio, care to explain what we're up to?" she warily asked, shifting her gaze from them to the cave entrance.

Francis stepped forward. "If it stands true that it was indeed abducted by a Skarmory, how can we be so sure if-"

"What abuduct?" Loopy interrupted after swallowing his other bite of the apple.

The Rattata shot the Machop a stern glare. "It means taken away, kidnapped," he snapped, and turned back to face Dugtrio with a polite smile. "Well, Mr/Mrs Dugtrio, back to what I was questioning, how can we be sure of the fact Skarmory not having… hmm… disposed of Diglett to be definite?" he inquired, picking various words so he wouldn't upset the threesome too much.

The ground type began shivering nervously, their face expressions rather anxious. "W-well, we are p-pretty sure Skarmory hasn't dealt with our baby. It wanted us to meet it at the top, b-but we fear it'll be a trap. It might snatch us from behind when we have surfaced like it did to our baby while he was taking a quick breath of fresh air."

Francis hummed thoughtfully as he rubbed his lower jaw. "Meet you alone, you say? A blackmail setup, perhaps?" he mused.

The Dugtrio shook their three heads simultaneously. "No, no, no," they hastily replied, "We don't know Skarmory's motive for kidnapping our boy, but please help!"

Loopy jumped to his feet and flexed his muscles. "Skaromy no match!" he boasted proudly.

"Uh, Loopy, do you even know what a Skarmory is?" Flash asked him.

Loopy stopped flexing his muscles and scratched his head. "No... forget again." Flash sighed, but as she was about to speak, Francis stole the opportunity.

"Skarmory is a steel bird Pokémon, which could simply be defined as a Steel and Flying type. Whereas two of us possess strength against a combination of that, there's still the fact that it is very big in comparison of… say Pidgey and Pidgeotto," he explained, finishing with a short tug on his whisker. "Unfortunately, Loopy, Skarmory possess great and durable armour that is highly resistant to physical attacks."

Flash grumbled something about wiseasses before she stepped towards the rat Pokémon. "Then tell me, oh wise one, about your review of this dungeon!" she mocked, a small trail of smoke billowing out of her nostrils. Francis returned the glare with a smug smirk.

"Gladly," he replied, "Mount Steel is – first of all – divided into two parts, a cave segment and a mountain segment, the later the reason why it's called Mount Steel. It is also known for having frequent earthquakes in the vicinity, caused by natural disasters that have been troubling the continent recently. Habitants usually tend to be aggressive due to lack of food inside, and should not be taken lightly, although a small river courses through the cave inside supplying them with water at least. Furthermore-"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Flash interrupted. "Where did you learn this stuff anyways?"

Francis tugged his whisker, looking slightly away. "Trade secret, Miss Flash." She sighed.

"Hah!" Loopy burst out, "No matter big birdie, me win!" He punched the air a few times before he set off into the cave segment of Mt Steel. "Now Diggle save!"

"Hey, Loopy, wait up!" cried Flash as she ran after him to catch up.

Francis looked at the younger Pokémon and sighed, turning to the Dugtrio. "Dear Mr/Mrs Dugtrio, you have my personal assurance that your baby will be retrieved safe and sound."

"Okay." The Dugtrio nodded before they went underground. After that, Francis ran after his team members into the cave.

* * *

This cave reminded Flash of the Thunderwave cave a lot. It had quickly gotten darker, but thanks to Flash's burning tip of her tail, it served as a light source. And that was most fortunate, as if the ground was rockier than in the Thunderwave cave due to recent earthquakes. Flash was in the lead of the three, casting vigilant glances at her side at the same time she tried to look forward where she was going.

Loopy walked slightly next to her, being behind by just a step or two. A happy, carefree smile was plastered on his face as he flailed his arms about impatiently, wanting to fight. Francis walked behind the two, studying them. He was indeed fascinated by the Machop, even though he did seem rather odd. Francis had yet to see him in action, of course, but he had a feeling that the Machop was not like other fighting types he had met.

The Charmander's vigilant eyes caught something lying on the ground against the cave wall, and walked up to it. Loopy curiously followed her. Flash bent down and examined whatever she had found. She smiled; it was a gummi, and an orange one at that. She walked up to Loopy and opened the Toolbox to put the gummi in.

"No!" a voice yelled from a distance.

Flash sighed. _"Not again…"_ The three Pokémon looked at where the voice came from, and saw a small, raccoon-like Pokémon running towards them. What was really odd was that the Pokémon wasn't really running straight at them; it was running in a more zigzag like pattern. It stopped when it was a few feet from Team Brawl, catching its breath as it stood on its fours. Its brown and beige striped fur was very spiky, and the fur around its eyes made it looks like it was wearing a bandit's mask.

"You!" the Zigzagoon started, looking at Flash, "gimme that gummi!" it demanded.

Flash stood tall, towering over the raccoon Pokémon. "No," she just said, snorting out a puff of smoke.

The Zigzagoon snarled as its fur bristled. "I… I must have it! Give it to me!" it once again demanded, voice shaky. It stepped forward to Flash, and Loopy quickly stepped in front of her.

"Fight?" he told the normal type with his fists raised. The Zigzagoon responded by snarling, but backed a few steps.

The raccoon Pokémon gritted its teeth as it glared at Flash. "No… I… must… I must… IT'S MY FAVOURITE!" it suddenly burst out, lunging at Flash. However, Loopy simply grabbed by the neck and tossed it back gently.

Francis walked forward to Loopy and nudged his leg with his paw. "Loopy, could you let me handle this?" The Machop looked at him with a questioning expression. "There was something in that last statement that bothered me, and an intellectual conversation would help me find the contradiction."

Loopy scratched his head, still looking at Francis. He cast a glance at the Zigzagoon that had gotten up, still seeming stressed out. "Carful, Franny-cis," he warned. Francis drew a short sigh as Loopy backed off.

Francis carefully walked up to the Zigzagoon, who stared at the Rattata. "Now, what is the importance of receiving this gummi, dear Zigzagoon?" he started, trying to pick up a normal conversation.

The Zigzagoon seemed to sweat a little before it answered. "I... I said it, it's my favourite. And I'm really craving for that specific one," it replied, wagging its tail innocently.

Francis regarded the normal type for a few seconds. "I find that odd. Don't you find that odd as well?" he finally replied, tugging his whisker smugly.

The Zigzagoon jumped in shock, starting to sweat more. "It's not odd! I really like them!"

Francis gestured Loopy to come and opened the Toolbox he wore, picking out two gummies, one white and one orange. "Which one of these gummies would you want?" he inquired.

Zigzagoon's fur was getting damp, and it looked nervously at its sides. "Th-the orange one of course!" it claimed.

"Objection!" Francis shouted, slamming the ground with his paw, and right after using it to point at the Zigzagoon. "That is a lie!"

"Argh!" Gritted teeth and wide open, angry eyes were plastered on Zigzagoon's face.

Francis picked up a paper from the Toolbox, and held it with his paws. "This here is a research paper written by me which is about gummies throughout the continent, and it clearly states that normal types _always_ prefer white gummies over orange!" he stated with a know-it-all voice.

It was suddenly silent. The Zigzagoon was still jittering and sweating as it nervously looked at Francis. Then, out of nowhere, it stood tall, wagging its tail. "Y…you're right," it admitted, smiling. "But I must still have that orange one."

"_If this is Francis' idea of fighting off hostile Pokémon, he's SO out of the team after this!"_ thought Flash impatiently as she watched the scene between the two normal types.

Francis looked suspiciously at the Zigzagoon, and quickly glanced at Loopy. "What would be the importance of acquiring this orange gummi then?" he then questioned carefully, noticing the Pokémon's stare at the gummi.

Zigzagoon's face slowly twitched into the nervous one again, even though it tried to keep its cool by wagging its tail as innocently it could. "C-come here… I don't wanna say it loud," it quietly said.

Francis studied the Pokémon further, and backed a few steps. He bumped into Loopy and quickly handed him the two gummies. "Stay alert, Loopy," he warned. Francis then approached the brown Pokémon whose eyebrow twitched as it resisted glaring at him.

"I d-don't want that gummi," it said suddenly, cowering a little. Francis approached a little more, his eyes looking at the raccoon Pokémon questioningly. "They want… they want… DIE!" it suddenly cried, kicking off the ground with its hind legs, ramming into Francis with such a force it knocked him across the room. He crashed into the wall and slowly slid down from it, seeing stars.

The now hostile Pokémon immediately lunged at Flash, _jumping_ over Loopy as it did so. It all happened so fast that the Machop didn't have time to react when the raccoon Pokémon struck the Charmander. Flash was knocked down on her back, but before she could manage to get up or charge up for an Ember attack, the Zigzagoon pounced on her again, mouth open.

However, before the Pokémon managed to sink its teeth in Flash's neck, someone grabbed its tail. It turned furiously around while it was hanging upside down to see Loopy staring angrily down at it.

"Mean furball!" he exclaimed as he began spinning the Zigzagoon over his head so fast it looked like a disc. The Zigzagoon yelled in pain as it was spun around and around. Loopy finally let go, watching the poor Pokémon sail into the cave for a long time until they all heard a faint thud. "Win!" he exclaimed happily, helping Flash up.

Francis slowly got up, wobbling on all his fours as he tried to regain his balance. "Oh dear, oh dear, my poor little head…" he muttered. He rubbed his head briefly before trotting over to Flash and Loopy.

Flash but her paws at her sides as she stared disappointedly at Francis. "Francis, what was the point of negotiating with that Pokémon?"

The Rattata snorted and tugged his whisker. "It was stating a false fact, and I find that highly unacceptable, Miss Flash," he protested, looking nonchalantly at his right paw. "But I would take a bold guess that Loopy handled that bewildered Zigzagoon, did he not?" he inquired.

Flash nodded, but still kept her upset stare at Francis. "Yeah, he tossed it further into the cave, too bad it was the same way we were heading." She cast a quick look at Loopy, who just stared back in confusion. "But you, of all Pokémon, should've known better than pulling off a stunt like that!"

The purple normal type bowed slightly. "My deepest apologies, Miss Flash, but I figured that the Zigzagoon was a subject for blackmailing, as a normal type craving for orange gummies over white gummies is actually not possible. Furthermore it would be extraordinarily fortunate if we got to the bottom of -" He stopped, seeing Flash's extremely annoyed glare. "I would take it that you would get the whole picture, although I myself am in a need for recovery after that hit."

Flash annoyed glare turned into a shocked stare. "But it only hit you _once_!" she stated.

Francis sighed. "Alas, I did indeed warn you of the fact that I am rather fragile unlike other Rattata." He approached Loopy and asked for an Oran berry. After downing the healthy, blue berry, he felt refreshed and as good as new. The Charmander sighed once again; they were wasting time.

"Can we please be on our way before that Skarmory discovers that a rescue team is out to get her hostage?" she angrily suggested, steam billowing out of her ears.

Francis nodded understandingly and followed Flash's lead as she began walking. Loopy was distracted by his own thinking, probably trying to comprehend what Francis had said before. One call from Flash was enough to snap him out of his thoughts and he quickly ran to catch up with them. It didn't take long before they all reached the Zigzagoon lying uselessly and beat up on the ground.

Flash and Francis stopped, while Loopy carefully advanced forward, cracking his knuckles. The furry Pokémon suddenly looked up at him helplessly. "Want more fight?" Loopy asked, eyeing the normal type sternly. The Zigzagoon began to cry.

"WAAAAH! Don't hit me!" it wailed. "Just leave me aloooone!" It cowered in fear of the Machop.

Francis was about to walk up to it, but Flash stopped him. "You let me handle talking this time," she told him lowly. He just rolled his eyes. The Charmander walked up to the crying Zigzagoon, but Loopy put a hand to her chest to hold her back.

"Furball trick," he claimed.

"J-just leave m-me alone, you meanies," the Zigzagoon sobbed. "I… I won't bother you…"

Loopy softened up a bit, and tilted his head. Flash slapped away his hand and approached the Zigzagoon. The raccoon Pokémon scrambled on its fours as it tried backing off. "Zigzagoon, we won't hurt you anymore, we just wanna ask a question," she assured calmly.

The Zigzagoon eyed her warily, lying down again. "I-I'm hungry," it muttered, giving her the puppy eyes.

Flash put her paw to her lower jaw and rubbed it thoughtfully. She then back a few steps, not taking her eyes of the smaller Pokémon in case it would surprise attack her, and asked Loopy for an apple. He nodded and picked up an apple, giving it to her. Flash then stepped forward and showed the Zigzagoon, whose eyes lit up, the fresh apple.

"Miss Flash," Francis spoke up, "what would the point of wasting apples on this barbarian? If I am correct, you were the one who stated that negotiating would be a waste of time, were you not?"

"I have an idea," Flash snapped back. She turned back to the Zigzagoon, who was now wagging its tail. "You happen to know a quick path to Skarmory's nest?" she asked.

Zigzagoon jumped in shock and started to shiver uncontrollably. "Sk-sk-sk-sk-Skarmory? B-but she's in a b-bad mood! N-no no no no!" it suddenly blurted out quickly. Loopy raised his fists as it started jittering. "B-but can I have th-the apple? I… I'll leave you alone!" it suggested. Flash sighed and tossed the apple to it. It hopped happily onto it and picked it up, running off with it as fast as it could.

Flash and Loopy stared blankly, blinking in unison. Francis, however, stepped forward with an exasperated sigh. "Now, that did not help us very much, did it?" he muttered.

Flash shrugged. "Guess not…" she muttered as they continued to trek further into the cave.

* * *

At the top of a plateau, a small, brown, mole like Pokémon was trapped. He had been there fore more than half a day now, and his fear was only getting worse when his parents didn't arrive. Despite him being a ground type, Diglett couldn't dig his way out of here, as the ground was only soft enough at the very top of the plateau, whereas the minerals deeper where much harder. He had been warned not to call for help, but he was aware that Skarmory was waiting for his parents. What business she had with them, he never knew.

He heard a familiar flapping approach quickly. A grey steel like bird landed instantly on the plateau. The bird like Pokémon folded her red, steely wings and lowered her long neck, staring at the ground type with yellow eyes. The top of her head could by some be mistaken for a shark fin, and on top of it all, she was the biggest Pokémon Diglett had ever seen.

"So," Skarmory started, narrowing her yellow, piercing eyes at Diglett. "Your parents are taking their sweet little time, aren't they?" she threateningly asked. Diglett didn't answer. Skarmory stood tall and held forward one of her talons, holding an apple in one of their three clawed grasps. "Here, in case you should be hungry." She dropped the apple in front of Diglett.

Diglett inched forward carefully, taking a nibble of the fresh looking apple. The apple had some marks from Skarmory's claws, but he didn't care; he was hungry after all. After he had swallowed the bite, he looked up at Skarmory, who stared down at him with dismay.

"You will all pay for this, you know that? For all what you've done to me," she snarled at him.

Diglett shivered, edging away from the apple. "But we didn't to anything to you! Why are you doing this?" he protested feebly.

Skarmory screeched briefly before she quickly hopped forward, grabbing his head with one of her talons. "Silence, you pest! I'll have none more of those excuses!" She stared deeply into Diglett's shivering eyes. "If I even _suspect_ that your parents got the idea of hiring a Rescue team…" She confirmed the threat by opening her beak fully, revealing rows of sharp teeth as well as her tongue that licked them. She quickly clamped her jaws shut right over the ground type's head, biting nothing but air.

Diglett became petrified with fear. As soon as Skarmory withdrew her head from his, not taking her piercing stare off him, he began to sniffle. "Y… you… " He couldn't take it; tears flowed down his mole like body as he wailed.

Skarmory's threatening stare turned into a heartily smile, a feature hardly notable on her, and rubbed his check carefully with the talons she used to hold him with. "But try not to fear the worst, little Diglett, if your parents follows the instruction I gave them right, you'll be able to go home with them," she assured. "Now, try to ease up that crying now, and have some more of that apple. I'll be off shortly, so don't wander off, it's a very deep chasm, you know." With that, she let go off him and spread her wings.

She left the plateau and soared briefly over the chasm. As she soared in the late afternoon sky, she was thinking if that snivelling ground type's parents would come. The minerals on Mount Steel were hard, and it'd be hard for them to reach the appointed place. She also thought of possible rescue teams; she feared them, but now she had the upper wing. She was a formidable fighter, strong enough to take on a whole team alone of they were rather low ranked. But if they were high ranked, she'd be in trouble.

Luckily for her, high ranked Rescue teams usually contained fully evolved Pokémon, and where easy to spot. And that snivelling brat's family would be very aware of that, after stating an example before them before. Despite that however, she figured that she'd need an outpost for the sake of safety. She spotted one of her contacts walking around on the ground, and sped down to it.

The mighty steel bird landed rudely in front of a large, brown stag beetle like Pokémon, armed with powerful pincers on its head that could easily break bones at the blink of an eye. The Pokémon's teeth were different from most other Pokémon, having vertical rows of teeth instead of horizontal rows, making it look more intimidating. The bulky bug type looked at the flying steel type.

"What you want, Torya?" he muttered, clenching his small, useless fists, as he eyed her.

Torya cackled briefly at the Pinsir, gesturing with her steely wing that she just wanted to talk. "Easy now, Harald, I have a business proposition for you."

Harald the Pinsir loosened up a bit, but then looked suspiciously at her. "It's another guard mission, isn't it? I hate those, Torya, you know that!"

"You get three hundred Poké up front, and if you succeed, you get another two hundred plus a green Gummi," offered Torya, attempting a smile towards the Pinsir.

Harald sighed, closing his eyes briefly. "What's the job then?"

The Skarmory opened her mouth, enhancing the smile. "I'm glad that you accept. It will be a rather simple. Guard the entrance from the cave that's part of this mountain. If you spot a rescue team, you have two options; if they're weak, erase them, dismember them, do whatever you want with them. If they look like a strong team, try reporting to me immediately. The first alternative will of course yield a better reward."

Harald nodded, understanding his assignment. "And if I deal with them, I report to you as well?" he asked to be sure. Torya nodded.

"I'll get the cash, but remember, try not to overestimate your abilities." Torya the Skarmory spread out her wings and took off almost instantly, getting the payment. Harald grinned, this would be fun…


	19. Equation of Trouble II

_**Chapter XIX: Equation of Trouble II**_

The threesome of Team Brawl was halfway through the cave segment of Mt Steel. It had been eerily quiet as they had trekked through the dark cave. Thankfully, Flash's tail flame helped illuminating the surroundings. Having gotten some directions from some friendly Geodude, they were heading towards the quickest way to the other side.

Though, the cave segment was still big, and the three Pokémon were getting tired. Francis was the first who stopped walking, and Loopy stopped right after. Annoyed, the Charmander looked at the two.

"Why are you guys stopping for?" she asked, fuming, "Mew knows what will happen if Skarmory finds out that we're going to get Diglett back!"

Loopy looked down, putting his hand on his tummy. He blushed slightly. "Hungry…" he muttered as it rumbled.

Flash sighed. "You eat too much!" she snapped.

Francis stepped forward. "For a Pokémon like a Machop it is quite natural they eat much due to their constant training and-"

"Shut up, Francis!" snapped Flash, smoke billowing out of her nostrils.

The Rattata looked at her for a short moment, and then started speaking again. "In fact, I happen to be a bit hungry too." Flash fell down on her back in exasperation, while Loopy picked up two apples from the Toolbox, tossing one to Francis as he began chewing his apple. The two Pokémon were eating their apples with a big smile. Flash looked at them as she sat up.

"Typical males…" she muttered, shaking her head. As if on cue, her stomach rumbled a bit, and a feeling of hunger struck her mind. She grumbled a little as she reached for the Toolbox and picked out an apple. Nibbling a little on the apple, she looked at the other two. Loopy was quickly gobbling the apple while Francis carefully nibbled on his own apple, much like Flash.

Loopy was the first to finish with his apple, and he quickly grabbed the Toolbox from Flash to get another one. Flash shot him a look, but he just smiled. "Apple good!" he exclaimed, biting down on his second apple.

Flash rolled her eyes. "At least we have enough apples to last two days in here in case we'd get horribly lost," she replied, taking a small bite from her apple. As she chewed, she looked around herself. It was a little quiet at the place they were at, and even though the Geodude had told them that it'd be a clear way to the other side, it still irked her that it was so silent.

She finished her apple and got to her feet. "I'm going to look around the area, guys, in case I'll find something," she said, getting the Toolbox. "You two can have a little chitchat, I'll be back in a flash," she finished as she walked away.

"Witty," Francis remarked dryly. He turned to Loopy. "So, how did you wind up with Flash, Loopy?" he then asked, still nibbling on his apple.

Loopy stopped eating his apple, and just stared blankly at it. "Flash find… me," he said blankly.

Francis studied him closer. "But what was your previous occupation?" asked Francis, and Loopy just stared at him, blinking. Sighing, Francis rephrased the sentence in a more understanding way. Loopy just shrugged. "Interesting," Francis then muttered, tugging his whisker.

* * *

Flash walked tiredly around, looking for any spare Poké some Pokémon might've dropped. She was a little worried about how the encounter with Skarmory would turn out. Sure, she had the type advantage, and so did Francis with his Flame Wheel attack, but that Steel type would put up a fight anyways.

A faint glitter caught her attention. She approached it and recognized it as a small pile of Poké lying about. She picked them up and counted them, sighing when it only turned out to be twenty or so. Quickly putting them in her Toolbox, she was about to turn heel and return to her companions when she spotted another glimmer coming from more Poké. Rushing to it, she realized she was right and picked up the small pile of money.

She smiled; there was a little more in this pile. Somewhere near the hundreds. _"It's probably Team Juvens who dropped this… doesn't surprise me though, seeing how that Dieter is acting all the time…"_ she though as she pocketed the money. She looked ahead and saw more Poké. Her eyes glittered greedily as she went over and picked up the small piles one after another. There was one final pile that was bigger than the rest, grinning she approached it and grabbed onto the money.

Her neck was suddenly firmly grabbed from behind, roughly pulling her to a stand. She flailed with her arms to get around and face her attacker, but couldn't. "Loopy! Get o-" A pale purple hand clamped her mouth. She panicked and tried using her tail to burn whoever had grabbed her, but found out that someone had grabbed onto that one as well.

"Calm down, girl, we don't want to hurt ya," the one holding her neck hissed, pushing Flash down and squeezing a little harder so she wouldn't struggle. She tried swiping at the Pokémon behind her, but missed, and soon two pair of hands grabbed onto her arms and held them stretched out so she was completely incapacitated.

"Mmrrrph!" Flash cried, struggling in attempt to even move. Her multiple captors tightened their grip and the two holding her arms twisted them slightly.

She saw a figure come out from the darkness ahead of her. She gulped, knowing that she was completely defenceless. The figure turned out to be just as tall as her, though having a rather big head with three flat topped spikes on his head like a crest. Sporting a pair of red shorts on his purplish body as he approached her, he grinned as he stared at her with his reddish eyes.

"You waltzed right into our little money trap," the Tyrogue smugly said, his voice sounding rather young. When he was close enough, he reached out with his hand and scratched Flash's scaly chin with one of his two fingers. Flash shot him a glare, trying to break free. The Tyrogue chuckled, grabbing onto her chin firmly. "Hey, guys," he then said, addressing his friends, "put her against that wall," he ordered. The four other Tyrogue followed the order, dragging Flash to a wall.

The leader Tyrogue followed, not taking his eyes off Flash. The one holding her neck nodded at his leader and let go of her neck and mouth along with the one holding her tail, backing off as the other two pushed her against the wall. The leader then grabbed her lightly by her throat. "Calm down, now," he lowly told her, "we won't hurt you unless you do what I tell you."

"What do you want?" Flash snapped as her lips curled up into a snarl. The leader Tyrogue let go of her throat slowly and socked her in her stomach, causing her to bend over at the sudden loss of air.

The leader lightly lifted her head up so she looked at him. "First off, no sudden outbursts, girl," he warned, balling his other hand into a fist in front of her face. She weakly nodded, gulping. "Good, you two!" he snapped, turning to the other two Tyrogue, "keep a watch!" The two Tyrogue nodded, walking off. The leader let his gaze slide over to Flash again. "We just want you to let us take that little Toolbox, and we will all be fine, okay?" he requested.

Flash gulped, not sure if she should answer or not. "Well, uh, it's not like I can stop you," she said, sweat dropping.

"Of course!" acknowledged the leader as the Tyrogue holding her left arm grabbed a hold of the Toolbox, handing it over to him, "but you see, you're kinda cute for a fire type," he added, scratching the tip of her chin some more with a slight toothy grin.

Flash's eye widened as she attempted to bite the hand, missing by just an inch as the leader swiftly withdrew it and quickly grabbed her by the neck.

"Now…" He smiled, "none of that now, 'kay? And if you even consider spitting fire at me, don't." He let go of her neck and pushed his index finger on her forehead in humiliation before he went through her Toolbox. He smiled as he took out an apple. "You sure got a lot of apples, care to share?" he requested as he bit down on it. "Mmm, good quality," he said with a mouthful.

"Yeah, yeah, can you let me go?" Flash grumbled, feeling tired in her arms.

The leader waved a finger quickly, "Not yet," he said, "when I'm done with your Toolbox, then I'll let you go," he assured, picking out apple after apple. "Food is scarce around here, you know, but it's a great training area," he then added, casting a quick look at her angry eyes. He also picked out the money he and his friends had planted for her earlier.

"Yeah," said the Tyrogue holding her left arm, "it's nothing personal, Charmander."

Flash turned to him. "Can you loosen the grip a little? It hurts," she requested. The Tyrogue looked at his leader, who was busy emptying the Toolbox of apples. He looked back at Flash and his companion, who just shrugged.

"You promise not to break free if we loosen it up?" he asked softly. She nodded. "We'll be forced to hurt you further if you do," he finished as he and hid companion loosened the grip. Flash sighed in relief as the pain eased up a little.

"There!" the leader said happily, "now that you've generously shared you apples, it's time for an extra bonus just for me." He approached her with a sly grin on his face as he firmly grabbed onto the sides of her face, staring intensively into her eyes. "Don't worry, it's just a little goodbye kiss, 'kay?" he assured, leaning forward kiss her forehead. Flash tried to twist her face out of the way, but the Tyrogue's grip was firm.

"INTRUDER! STOP, Agh!" one of the guarding Tyrogue yelled before he was abruptly cut off. The leader tensed and let go of Flash, looking at the direction the two Tyrogue had left off.

"TYKE! THEY'RE COMING YOUR WA-Ooof!" the other shouted, being cut off as well.

The leader, apparently named Tyke, clenched his fists angrily as he turned to Flash. "Damnit!" he growled. His mind raced with various ideas he was thinking up how to handle the situation. He grabbed Flash by the scarf all of a sudden. "You two, get in position!" he ordered the two holding her arms, who let go.

Loopy and Francis emerged from the shadows, Loopy holding the two Tyrogue he knocked down by their necks, dragging the along the ground. "Mean Tyrogue let Flash go!" he threatened, dropping the two beaten up Tyrogue.

Francis sighed. "Of course you know how to pronounce Fighting types…" he muttered, tugging his whisker.

Tyke backed a few steps, pulling Flash closer to himself. "Drat," he muttered, glancing at the entire stock of apples he had emptied the Toolbox of. "Get them already!" he barked at his two companions. The two Tyrogue rushed towards the two members of Team Brawl.

Francis hopped out of the way while Loopy slugged the first Tyrogue, and using a Low Kick on the second, downing both of them. After dealing with those two, Loopy looked back at Tyke, staring him down. "Let Flash go!" he demanded, punching his fist into his palm.

Tyke smiled sheepishly as he let go of the Charmander, still backing off. "Ehe, hey, Machop, don't get mad now, eh, I didn't hurt her," he stuttered, trying to find an escape route. Loopy stomped forward determinately, causing the Tyrogue to shudder a little more.

"You're in for it, creep," Flash grinned as Loopy kept approaching Tyke. She looked over her shoulder to see Francis tugging the unconscious Tyrogue to one place so they were lying in a heap. She walked over to the apples and the Toolbox, proceeding to stuff the apples back into it.

Tyke's scared eyes briefly turned to Flash, seeing her taking the apples back. He cursed inwardly at the sight, glaring at her. His attention went back to Loopy, and he tried backing off faster. He tripped and fell on his back, quickly shuffling backwards into the closest wall. "P-please! D-don't hurt me!" he pleaded.

Loopy towered over the Tyrogue, frowning. "Mean fighter hurt Flash," he growled, kneeling down and grabbing a hold of Tyke's neck. He pulled back his fist as Tyke tried reaching for something he had spotted.

"Loopy, I would guess that is enough," suggested Francis tiredly, having used most of his energy piling the knocked out Tyrogue.

"After what that creep put me through, he _deserves_ more than being knocked out!" growled Flash, snorting out a puff of smoke through her nostrils. The Rattata rolled his eyes, muttering something about unneeded violence.

Loopy looked at Flash before he was about to deliver a hard punch across Tyke's face. "What put Flash what?" he said confusedly, quirking his eyebrows. Tyke saw the chance and managed to grab onto something pointy, quickly stabbing Loopy's arm with it. However, Loopy's muscles prevented the pointy object from going far into his skin, and he quickly retaliated by punching Tyke hard across the face.

"MEAN TYROGUE!" roared Loopy as he landing a hard Low Kick in Tyke's stomach, sending him right at the wall.

Sliding down, Tyke started to cry. Loopy pulled off the pointy object and tossed it away, looking at the weeping Tyrogue. "J… just… l-leave," Tyke wept, looking away.

Flash looked at Tyke with despising eyes. "You deserved it," she muttered, "Let's go, guys!" she then exclaimed, picking up the filled Toolbox. The threesome left the area, heading for the other cave exit to find Diglett and possibly Skarmory.

But as they left, Tyke's crying slowly stopped, forming itself into a sly grin.

* * *

"You should have known better than to fall for such a simple trap, Miss Flash," scolded Francis after he had heard Flash's story while they walked. The Charmander snorted.

Loopy put his hand on her shoulder happily, snickering. "But worry no. Tyrogue be weak!" he exclaimed happily. "Me protect!" Flash grinned cheekily as she pushed Loopy's hand away.

"Though I have to admit that those Tyrogue _were_ slightly weak for being Fighting Pokémon," concluded Francis, tugging his whisker. "Could be because of lack of food…"

Flash stepped in front of Francis, glaring down at him as steam billowed out of her ears. "Are you saying I'm weak? There were _five_ of them!" she snarled.

"What I _am_ suggesting, Miss Flash, is that you should not run for every pile of money you spot." Flash stared at him angrily and he just returned the stare, being as calm as ever. "Now, shall we move on?" he suggested, tugging his whisker arrogantly. Flash just grumbled, imagining how it would look like if she set Francis' whiskers on fire. Her angry stare turned into a grin.

Loopy just shrugged and continued onwards, rubbing his arm where he had been stabbed earlier. The wound wasn't even bleeding, thanks to his strong skin preventing that pointy thing from impaling, but it still hurt a little every now and then. Choosing to ignore it, he ventured closer to what would be the exit of the cave.

However, the pain suddenly spread through his left side of his body, causing him to kneel down clutching his left arm. He grunted as the pain quickly spread to his lungs, making it harder for him to breathe.

"Loopy! What's wrong?" Flash asked in worry as she ran up to him.

"Arm… hurt…" he groaned. "Hurt… most…" He clutched onto his injured arm, screwing his eyes shut.

Francis padded forward, studying Loopy closely. "May I have a look?" he questioned with slight interest. He reached out with his cream coloured paw to grab a hold of Loopy's injured arm. Examining thoroughly, he let out a shocked gasp when he realized what was wrong. "Poison!" he exclaimed.

Loopy groaned again and withdrew his poisoned arm. "Hurt…"

Francis almost pounced onto Flash, ripping open the lid of the Toolbox. "Hey, hey!" Flash yelled in protest, shoving the Rattata away so she could put the Toolbox down. "What are you looking for?"

"A few Pecha berries," Francis quickly replied.

Flash winced; there was something about that she just realized. "We… uh, we don't have any of those…" she said lowly, looking down.

Francis looked up from the Toolbox, his left eye twitching. "No… Pecha… berries?" he slowly said, his eye twitching once more. "This is a disaster! The poison inside Loopy has coursed through his body enough to render Oran berries and apples _useless_ for keeping him alive longer!" he yelled, upset over the current situation.

Flash shrugged unknowingly. "But doesn't apples and Oran berries hinder the poison from spreading?" she suggested, feeling nervous seeing Loopy twitch due to the pain.

Francis grumbled. "I told you it has already coursed through his body too much! We need to get a Pecha berry fast!" he shouted at her, gazing aggressively into her eyes. Loopy tried to sit up. "Stop, Loopy, you make sure to be perfectly still so the poison won't spread any more it already has!" he sternly ordered the Machop, who feebly complied.

"Well, well, well. What a pickle you've gotten yourselves in…" muttered a distant voice behind Flash and Francis. They both turned around to see the same Tyrogue along with his four friends. Although his friends still looked pretty beat up, someone was having bruises, and one even having a black eye. Two of them walked past Tyke and approached Flash and Loopy, cracking their knuckles.

"What do you want?" snarled Flash, standing protectively in front of Loopy while Francis told him not to move. The two Tyrogue kept approaching, grinning. Flash spat out an Ember at them, which they swiftly dodged. The fireball bounced uselessly on the ground a few times before dissipating. She gulped nervously as the two Fighting types were close enough to launch an attack at her.

Tyke chuckled, holding a pink coloured berry in his right hand. "Payback," he replied as the two Tyrogue shoved Flash aside, approaching Loopy. They quickly raised their fists which made Francis back away instinctively, and then grabbed Loopy by his arms, socking him the stomach one time each. He couldn't fight back, not after what Francis had told him.

"Payback for what? He came to rescue me from you, you fricking creep!" snarled Flash, getting up after being shoved.

Tyke cackled. "But admit it was ingenious of me by playing all cowardly to get a perfect hit with that poisonous spike," he said smugly, stepping forward with his other two companions following behind. "I saw that you didn't have any Pecha berries in your little Toolbox, but look what I have heeeree!" he teased, showing Flash the pink Pecha berry.

"What do you want?" Flash asked again, smoke billowing out from her nostrils. She briefly looked back at Loopy, and saw the two Tyrogue twist his arms, forcing him to drop down on his knees.

Tyke grinned, his two companions getting in front of him protectively. "There's something we want, but I'm not gonna tell you what it is. That is, until we need it," he said slyly, adding a short chuckle.

"No way!" rejected Flash, "Agreeing to something without knowing what it is? How gullible do you think I am?"

"Fine then…" said Tyke darkly, "let your friend die if that's what you want," he finished, his eyes gleaming almost maliciously.

Flash stared at him, and then stared at Loopy. She felt her heart sink slightly at the sight of him being in pain and those cowardly Tyrogue restraining him so smugly. She clenched her paws, curling her lips in a snarl towards Tyke. "Can I speak with my team mate first?" she requested.

Tyke shrugged, "Sure, but it looks like your little friend doesn't have much time left," he replied, toying with his Pecha berry. His two protecting friends grinned simultaneously.

Grumbling, Flash gestured Francis to come, and the Rattata approached carefully, bringing the Toolbox with him. "Francis, hand me an Oran berry," she whispered. "I got an idea." She clenched her paw around the berry, hiding it slightly as she turned to Tyke, walking up to him. She had the paw she held the berry lowered so Tyke and his friends wouldn't notice. She narrowed her eyes at the two Tyrogue she passed, who looked suspiciously at her.

"Made up your mind?" asked Tyke, leering.

Flash looked at him, fighting the urge to clench her paws. "You want the apples, don't you?" she growled, staring intently into his smug eyes.

Tyke nodded shortly, widening his grin. "It's more than that, girl. I already told you that food is scarce around here, and even though we have some other Pokémon under our control, such as a Zigzagoon who brought us just one apple not long ago, we need a good food source. And just all of your apples isn't enough," he explained as he tossed the Pecha berry, catching it with his other hand. "So I want to know where you live, but you'll have to take us there so we know you actually _do_ live there. It wouldn't hurts to pay you a visit, would it?" he finished, reaching out to scratch her lower jaw.

Instinctively, Flash slapped away the approaching hand, snarling defensively afterwards. "I'm _not_ becoming your girlfriend, you stinking brat!" she snarled.

Tyke chuckled. "That doesn't sound half bad, but that'd be kinda selfish towards my buddies. Nah, I was thinking more of a safe supply of food in the future. And if you'd happen not to keep up the deal, something terrible might've happened," he told her lowly as he tossed the berry once more, catching it effortlessly. Flash approached him, thin trails of smoke billowing out of her nostrils.

"Look, kid, we don't have time for this!" she snarled, "we got to face up against a Skarmory who has kidnapped a Diglett, and you can just piss off and crawl under the rock you came from, you little excuse for a fricking Fighting Pokémon!" she burst out.

Tyke stepped back, looking at her with disgust. "You sicken me… it looks like you don't care about your friend… but it's your call," he muttered. "Come on, guys, let's leave these idiots!" he exclaimed, gesturing them to leave with him. One of the two Tyrogue who held Loopy just let go of him while the other one socked him once more, watching him slump down against the wall. He just whimpered as the burning pain inside him was slowly spreading.

Flash looked at the Tyrogue once more before turning her back towards him, lifting her tail a little in a cheeky gesture.

He just scoffed and left with his friends, tossing the blue berry triumphantly. He knew that he had at least delivered a major payback against that pesky Machop, and that stupid Charmander would regret refusing his 'generous' offer. His eyes suddenly widened as a realization hit him.

He stopped dead on his tracks and looked at the berry. It was an Oran berry he had in his hand.

"Hey!" he shouted, snapping around pointing at Flash, "Stop her!" he ordered as three of the Tyrogue ran at her.

Flash cursed silently of the fact that she had been exposed. Kicking off with her feet, she tried running away from the Fighting Pokémon. However, she felt a hand grab onto her tail, screaming as the grabber pulled her to a stop. In desperation, she tossed the Pecha berry she quickly switched earlier with the Oran berry to Francis. "Get it to Loopy!" she yelled as another Tyrogue struck her down, using his weight to pin her. The third Tyrogue was charging towards Francis.

"Oh dear." The Rattata rose up to his rear legs and managed to catch the Pecha berry. The pink berry landed on his right paw, and he fumbled it due to the stress of one Tyrogue charging towards him. Quickly picking it up with his paw, he tossed to Loopy before he was tackled by the Fighting type. Loopy reached weakly out with his hand and tried catching it, fumbling the berry as well.

"Oh, crud," muttered Tyke, "You! Stop him from eating it!" he ordered, jogging up to Flash, glaring down at her.

The Tyrogue that charged for Loopy ran as fast as he could, jumping over one of his comrades that held Francis pinned to the ground and grabbed onto Loopy's arm, trying to prevent him from eating the berry. Loopy struggled to pull the arm closer to him so he could eat the berry, and thanks to him being much stronger than the Tyrogue trying to stop him, the Tyrogue had to use both hands to try pulling the arm back.

Tyke stood above Flash, growling at her as she was pinned. His two companions rolled Flash over so she lay on her back. Tyke let out a faint smile as he sat down on her chest, clamping his hand around her mouth so she couldn't surprise him with an Ember. The two other kept her arms pinned. "You stupid girl," he hissed, shaking her head a little before giving her a hard slap across her cheek. "You stupid, stupid girl!" he growled as he balled his slapping hand into a fist.

Loopy used all of his strength to punch the Tyrogue with his free hand, something the Fighting type didn't expect. The purple Pokémon was struck and let go of Loopy, reeling as he clutched his face. When he recovered, he saw the Machop gulp down the pink berry that would cure him of his ailment. In desperation, he lunged at Loopy and grabbed him by the neck.

Loopy just grabbed both of the Tyrogue's hands, pulling them from his neck effortlessly. He then rose to his feet, lifting up the Tyrogue in the progress. The lesser Fighting type yelped as his feet dangled in the air. Loopy chucked him away a short distance, kicking the Tyrogue who was pinning Francis down swiftly afterwards.

"Meanie Tyrogue let Flash go NOW!" he barked, gritting his teeth as Francis got up.

Tyke looked over at Loopy, eyes widening. He looked back at Flash and felt his blood boil as she was suddenly smirking at him. "Guys, let her go…" he said lowly. The two Tyrogue complied, letting go of Flash's arms and stepped away. Tyke let his gaze float over to Loopy again, who glared daggers at him. Flash tried to push him off her, but he was still a little bit too heavy for her. Tyke looked down at her, and lightly caressed her cheek.

Loopy started approaching Tyke. "Me say let go!" he roared, clenching his fists. "No poison or me punch hard!" he added, punching the air demonstratively. The four other Tyrogue weakly stepped in front of Tyke, raising their fists. Loopy punched his fist into his palm, snorting at them. They all stepped back simultaneously.

Tyke got off Flash and let her go, and jumped away from her in case she'd attack him. "Come on guys… let's get outta here," he said lowly, almost depressive. The rest of them nodded and ran off.

Flash snarled at them as they ran. "Lucky idiots!" she grumbled, turning to look at Loopy who still seemed a little weak of the after effects of the poison.

"Flash okay?" he asked with concern. She nodded shortly, patting his shoulder. He laughed and firmly embraced his arms around her, catching her in a squeezing hug. "Fun!"

"Get off, Loopy! I'm NOT IN THE DAMN MOOD!" she yelled, firing an Ember at him. He yelped and dropped her, rubbing his head.

Francis sighed and shook his head. "Not nice, Miss Flash," he muttered.

Flash shot him a glare. "Look, this is taking longer than expected! I swear, if I meet one more hostile Pokémon I'm going to…" She clenched her paws, gritting her teeth.

The Rattata sighed again, walking up to Loopy. "Loopy, would you mind taking the charge of being the carrier of the Toolbox?" he asked. Loopy rolled his eyes and shrugged, only getting the Toolbox part as he walked over and picked it up.

The threesome proceeded through the cave, not saying much more after the incident with the Tyrogue gang. They all spotted some light up ahead, clarifying that it'd be the cave exit they had been looking for so long, and rushed for it. Almost blinded by the light, they were welcomed with bright sunlight, and a spectacular view.

They had ended up halfway up a mountain, and could spot the possible mountain where Skarmory and Diglett would be located not far away. They were all relieved that their mission would come to an end. Flash inhaled the fresh air deeply, letting out a sigh afterwards.

"Let's hope that Skarmory doesn't spot us… or that Diglett will be in trouble," she muttered, looking warily around her.

They suddenly heard a low cackle. It sounded different, and didn't belong to any of the Tyrogue gang. The members of Team Brawl became alert, looking for the source of the cackle.

A Pinsir jumped down from a ledge above the exit, grinning widely as he clicked his powerful pincers on his head. "Why, a little gang of kids nosing around… wanting to avoid a Skarmory…" he said, narrowing his eyes.

Francis raised one of his front paws. "Actually, only two are kids. I, on the other hand, am a grown adult with much more knowledge than you will ever expect, dear Pinsir. And yes, we do have an appointment of sorts with that Skarmory."

Harald the Pinsir chuckled. He knew what he had to do, either report to Skarmory, or take this Rescue Team down. Of course the latter would yield a nifty bonus, so of course he chose that option. He clicked his pincers again. "Funny guy, huh? Let's see how funny you are when you're cut in half!" he barked as he leapt towards the Rattata.


	20. Square Root of Showdown I

_**Chapter XX: Square Root of Showdown I**_

The Rattata managed to barely jump away from the attacking Pinsir, toppling into the Machop who stepped in front of him, raising his fists. The Pinsir chuckled, staring down the Fighting type. The Bug type had attacked Francis without any warning, trying to cut him in half.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Flash yapped, raising her paws in defence. She winced as the Pinsir snapped his eyes at her. "W-we're just p-passing through," she then stuttered, feeling smaller by the Pinsir's piercing stare.

Harald the Pinsir clicked his pincers, narrowing his eyes as he studied Flash and Loopy's navy blue scarves. "You're a rescue team, correct?" he inquired, wanting to be sure that he was facing up against a Rescue Team. "If so, what is your mission?" he asked further; he didn't want to waste his time taking down the wrong Rescue Team.

Francis stepped forward, still hiding a little bit behind Loopy, who had put the Toolbox away. "Indeed we are," he acknowledged, "you do not have any business regarding our mission," he finished, tugging his whisker slightly nervously.

Harald snarled as he shot Francis a glare. But Loopy stood firmly on his ground with his fists raised and not taking his eyes the bigger Pokémon. Francis yelped and hid from the penetrating stare of the stag beetle Pokémon. Harald sent a piercing stare into the Machop's eyes to intimidate him slightly, but the Fighting type didn't even flinch.

He looked down at Francis again. "You are one cheeky bastard," he growled, grinning with his vertically rowed teeth, showing a very odd grin. "You wanted to see Skarmory, right?" he then asked, looking at Loopy again.

The Machop nodded. "Skarymo birdie Diggle take," he just said, frowning a little.

Harald slammed his pincers together powerfully, causing a whip-like sound to scare Flash and Francis. Loopy just stared. "So, you _are_ going to bother her! Then it's up to me to take care of you, if you know what I mean." Harald clenched his small fists, concentrating as his body started to glow a faint white. Loopy quickly imitated the action, closing his eyes as he focused his energy.

"He's hostile!" yelled Flash, "get in position!" The Charmander and Rattata ran to different directions, leaving Loopy facing off against Harald while they both were using the Focus Energy attack to boost their attack power.

Harald was the first to finish the move and quickly followed up by lowering his head to grab Loopy with his powerful, spiky pincers. Loopy finished his focusing right in time to raise his hands to grab the pincers and push them away. Harald chuckled as he easily overpowered the Machop and clamped his pincers around Loopy's sides, lifting him up.

"Idiot! So much for being the brave one, huh?" he taunted, squeezing as he held Loopy with his Bind attack. Loopy desperately tried to pry himself off, but his arms were trapped in the fierce, painful grip.

"Now, Francis!" Flash yelled, spitting out a volley of small fireballs as Francis sent of a rolling ring of fire, both attacks heading straight at the Pinsir.

Harald saw the attacks and hopped out of the Flame Wheel's way, getting struck form behind by some of the smaller fireballs, few accidentally striking Loopy.

"Flash bad aim!" he wheezed, kicking with his legs as he felt the Pinsir squeeze even more. Some of the small spikes on the pincers were slowly penetrating his grey skin on his upper arms, hindering him from breaking free.

Flash winced as she saw the Pinsir turn his attention towards Loopy, intent on crushing his bones using his pincers. She knew that Francis wasn't able to use the Flame Wheel attacks that many times, but her Ember would at least distract the beast. Inhaling some air, she quickly spat out some more fireballs towards the Bug type.

Harald's main attention was Loopy, and he didn't saw the small versions of Ember coming right at him, but a small rock hit the side of his head first. Turning to the direction the rock had come from, he saw Francis tugging his whiskers arrogantly. Instantly after he spotted Francis, he was struck by the Ember attack from behind, dropping Loopy in the progress.

Loopy jumped to his feet and backed away, raising his fists in defence. He frowned at Harald. "Odd brownie squeeze hard. Much hard," he groaned, feeling slight pain in his arms as he was catching his breath. He backed away some more as the Pinsir was recovering from the fire attack. "Brownie strong!" he warned his team mates.

Francis nodded towards Loopy, picking up another nearby Gravelerock. He tossed it lightly up once to check its weight. _"Hmm, this one's shape divided by three plus the vertical surface of that nearby wall, subtracting the speed of the rotation divided by the square root of the distance between me and the Pinsir. Perfect!"_ he calculated before as he chucked the rock against the wall above the exit of the cave. "Mr. Pinsir!" he called.

Harald turned to face him, glaring him down with a murderous stare. The Gravelerock hit the side of his head again. Snarling he turned to where the rock had come from, seeing nothing but the cave exit. "Show yourself!" he barked, clicking his pincers.

Loopy used the temporary distraction and rushed forward, utilizing his Low Kick move to deliver a hard kick at Harald's undefended back. The force of the impact was strong enough to cause Harald to fall down, but he quickly retaliated and attempted to grab Loopy again with his pincers. Loopy quickly jumped back to avoid the oncoming attack, casting quick glances at Francis and Flash to make sure they were safe.

"Bravo," scoffed Francis, tugging his whisker, "fooled by the stone, were you not?"

Growling, Harald was about to charge at him, but then turned his attention towards Flash and rushed towards her all of a sudden. The Charmander's eyes widened as the stag beetle Pokémon charged at her, his pincers glowing a faint grey colour as he neared her. She fired of an Ember barrage at him, but the fire was deflected by the pincer's glow.

She panicked and fortunately managed to jump out of the incoming Vicegrip attack's way. Harald almost toppled over as he failed to catch her in a near-fatal grip in his pincers.

"Missed me, now you gotta kiss me!" teased Flash, quickly slapping her forehead. "I… didn't mean that," she grumbled afterwards as Harald angrily rose to his feet.

"I've had it with you stupid kids!" growled Harald, glaring daggers at mainly Flash. Loopy pounced on him from behind and pounded his head with all his might, jumping off the Bug type's head just in time to avoid the pincers. Harald quickly turned to Loopy, narrowing his eyes. "You little…" He was struck from behind. Roaring an insect-like roar, Harald charged at Flash and rammed his side right into her, knocking her down hard.

Harald felt a pair of feet on his head again and quickly guessed it was Loopy again. Feeling a thundering pain as his head was struck again by the Machop, he quickly retaliated by clamping his pincers around the Fighting type, succeeding this time. Grinning, he flung him right at Flash who was still lying down.

Loopy landed onto Flash with a loud thud. He didn't have enough time to get to his feet before he and Flash were both picked up by the pincers of Harald's. Harald grinned as he began to close his pincers, squeezing the two trapped Pokémon in between them.

"Argh!" grunted Flash as the small spiky joints on the pincers dug into her left side as her right side was pressed against Loopy. "This is worse than any of your hugs, Loopy!"

"One perfect Vicegrip will do the job with you two." Harald sneered as he briefly loosened the grip to charge up for his stronger attack. His sneer widened at the sight of Flash and Loopy's vain attempts to break free. He chuckled as his pincers were emitting the same greyish glow, indicating the power building up.

Harald's concentrating was disturbed when he heard something hot and fiery approaching him from behind. Turning around clumsily, due to him carrying two Pokémon in his pincers, his eyes was met with a scorching ring of fire rolling right at him. Unable to dodge the oncoming attack, he cursed loudly as the fire attack struck his chest and enveloped his body in fire.

In his panic, he dropped Flash and Loopy as he ran around like a headless chicken as his whole body had caught on fire. Not paying any attention to where he was running, he ran right off a ledge, screaming as he tumbled down the depths. Francis, who had launched the Flame Wheel, ran over to the ledge and peered down to see the Pinsir lying lifelessly on his back below, charred black of the after effects. The Rattata winced before he turned to look at Flash and Loopy, with the latter pulling the Charmander to a stand.

"Flash kay-o?" he asked, putting his hands on her shoulders with a smile.

Flash pushed his hands a way, smiling back at him. "Yeah… but my side hurts," she muttered, rubbing the small cuts on her left side. Francis trotted over to the Toolbox and opened it, picking out a blue berry.

"Miss Flash, please have this," he told her as he tossed the Oran berry to Flash. She caught it and put it in her mouth, savouring the various tastes of the healthy berries. Swallowing it, she felt the pain ease up on her left side. Francis looked at Loopy. "And Loopy, what is the point of switching the o and the kay in 'okay'?" he muttered.

Loopy scratched the back of his head, smiling widely. "Fun!" he just exclaimed.

Francis sighed, picking out an Oran berry from the Toolbox. "In fact, by turning the phrase 'okay' into 'kay-o', you are actually using the abbreviation of 'Knock Out'. And that would not be the case, now would it?" he stated while sporting a smug smirk.

Loopy just looked at him, tilting his head while grinning. "Franny-sis talk funny," he replied. Francis just shook his head before he tossed the Oran berry to the Fighting type. Loopy effortlessly caught and downed it in a gulp, feeling his wounds heal up.

Flash chuckled as she approached the Normal type. "Heh, you did good there, Francis," she commended, patting his head.

"It was his weakness," he just muttered, "such a shame he ended up for the worse." He approached the ledge and looked down. The Pinsir still lay there. Francis sighed.

Flash walked up to him. "He tried to kill us," she reminded him. He just nodded.

"One predator less, I guess… Unwise of me to waste that second Flame Wheel; we need to be at full power against Skarmory," he stated, tugging his whiskers thoughtfully.

"Franny make rhyme!" Loopy exclaimed happily, flexing his muscles. "Me no away back when Skarom fight!" he then yelled out, punching the air. The other two sighed before they started to proceed to where Skarmory would be located. The sky was slowly changing its colours to the more evening style, becoming a bit more of a purplish light blue as the sun was slowly on its way to set. But heavy looking dark clouds were approaching as well, eager looking to block the sun and dump some rain down below.

The Charmander looked up at the clouds with worry. There was a big chance they would let off some rain, and with rain during the battle against Skarmory, would make the battle harder. She also worried if it would be light or heavy rain. She didn't like when she got wet, as she was a fire type after all. Loopy kept walking with a watchful eye around his surroundings, a little bit aware of the suspicious silence by the mountains. Francis was keeping his ears alert for any suspicious noise.

A brief chilly gust blew, whistling eerily at Team Brawl, causing the members to shiver. The clouds were slowly approaching looking bigger for every minute as the trio walked on. Flash and Francis' feet were starting to hurt slightly after walking through the rocky surfaces, but Loopy's well trained and sturdy feet prevented him from feeling any pain there.

The group took a short rest at the request of Francis whose paws had taken a beating after the walk. The three sat down and was eating an apple each to replenish strength for the fight. The break was supposed to be a brief one and when they all had finished eating their apples, Loopy picked up the Toolbox and the trio continued their approach.

Francis was the first to realize something. Turning to look up at the sky, he saw nothing but the evening colours with the clouds slowly approaching them. When he turned to face forward, he saw a shadow speed across him and instantly looked up again. "Skarmory!" he burst out, getting Flash and Loopy's attention.

The Armour Pokémon glared down at the rescue team below her. She quickly recognized them as a rescue team due to two members wearing scarves. And apparently Harald had failed her. Screeching, she took off to deal with the Diglett.

* * *

Diglett was staring up at the sky, relieved that Skarmory had taken off for a flight. He was still scared, though, he missed his Ma and Pa. He wondered what took them. Dugtrio could dig through harder minerals than Diglett could, so what was stopping them? He drew a long sigh, looking slightly worried about those heavy clouds, he didn't like water, his body had a tendency to absorb it and make him unnecessarily heavy and unable to dig.

He spotted something flying towards at him at a high velocity. He quickly recognized it as Skarmory. She landed hard and sternly on the plateau he was trapped on, slowly walking over to him, her claws making clacking sounds for every step she took. She glared brightly at him with her yellow, piercing eyes as her beak was slightly open, revealing her rows of sharp teeth.

"Your parents didn't keep their part of the deal," hissed Torya as she clutched onto Diglett's head with her talon, repressing the urge from crushing it.

Diglett shivered as his eyes became teary. "Wh-what?" he squeaked. Torya shook his head back and forth a few times, screeching at him.

"Your careless parents hired a rescue team!" she snarled, bringing her head closer to Diglett's, "If they won't talk, they don't want you back. But at least I'll have my part of the revenge!" She licked her teeth with great anticipation.

Diglett winced at her breath, but was beginning to panic. "W-w-w-WAAAAH! MOOMMMYYYY!" he wailed, tears flowing down his brown mole like body.

Torya cackled as she gave him a long lick over his body, causing him to scream even more in panic. "They won't help you…"

"But _we_ will, you stupid bitch!" someone yelled from the other side of the chasm. Diglett couldn't see since the Skarmory was in his way, but the steel type furiously turned around to see who had uttered that insult.

"Language, Miss Flash," muttered a Rattata.

"Let Diggle free, mean bird!" growled a Machop with his fists raised.

Diglett felt a little relieved, seeing the rescue team had arrived before the Skarmory managed to kill him. But the Skarmory was still clutching his head, so he wasn't home free yet.

Torya snapped her head to glare at the Ground type. "Lucky little pest," she whispered as she let go and spread her red metallic wings to fly over to the other side. She landed a few feet away from Team Brawl, gazing scornfully at them. She folded her wings and cackled. "You don't look strong… except for maybe that Machop."

Flash snarled, steam trailing out of her nostrils. "Hand over the Diglett!" she demanded, clenching her left paw.

The Armour Pokémon cackled again, staring into Flash's eyes. "Or you'll do what?" she questioned, lowering her head mockingly to Flash's level.

"Me punch and Flash fire!" Loopy growled, stepping forward.

The Skarmory glanced at Loopy. "Don't make me laugh, Fighting type, you stand no chance against me," she grinned. She looked back at Flash. "It looks like Flash is your name, eh? Then I guess I should introduce myself." The Skarmory stood tall, spread one wing and pointed at herself. "I am Torya. In case you'd like to know the reason behind the kidnapping, it's because this stupid ilk's parents have been causing the multiple earthquakes too many times!" she screeched at the trio.

Francis stepped forward. "I am Francis of Bluntentooth IV Junior," he introduced himself as he bowed. "To counter your motive of kidnapping, it is clear that it is impossible for a Dugtrio's attack power to be such high to cause powerful earthquakes while digging that has been tormenting your kind."

"Wise one, huh?" Torya growled, staring at the Rattata. "But what if they randomly used the attack Earthquake just to mess with me?"

"Objection!" Francis shouted as he pointed at her with his paw. "If that would be the case, Mr/Mrs Dugtrio would be strong enough to wipe you out on their own, Miss Torya!" he stated, tugging his whiskers smugly afterwards.

Torya screeched. "I… I don't care! That stupid kid will die! His parents must suffer for what they've done!" She spread both her wings and charged towards Loopy without warning, striking him with her head powerfully enough to send him rolling a distance.

Flash and Francis split up to different locations, the same way they did against the fight against Harald. Loopy got back up and tried to punch Torya, but she was out of range as she circled the team below her. The Charmander readied an Ember attack, concentrating it on one big fireball so she'd strike the Steel type with as much fire power as possible.

Torya studied the three as she made sure to stay out of range or long enough to react to any attack launched towards her. The Machop was probably the strongest of the bunch, and the Rattata the weakest. The Charmander was her main problem. Type disadvantages were never good in a one-on-three face offs. Especially not against a rescue team.

She studied Flash some more, seeing that she was powering up an Ember attack towards her. _"You'll pay for what you called me, you little puny Fire type,"_ she angrily thought as she swooped down at Flash, ready to rake her talons at her. As she approached, she saw how Flash spat out a large fireball towards her. She easily swayed out of the fireball's way, briefly watching it tumble down uselessly into the deep abyss.

She cackled as she dove at Flash, talons ready to strike. The Charmander's eye widened as she tried to run away, but it was no use; Torya snatched the Charmander in her talons and quickly flew up to avoid either Loopy or Francis' attack in case they'd try to stop her.

"Lemme go!" Flash growled, trying to pry herself off the large steel bird's strong talons. She looked down and yelped. "Wa-wait! Don't!" she quickly said afterwards, surprised that she and the Skarmory was so high up already.

Torya cackled again. "Not so tough now, stupid girl?" she smugly remarked, loosening the grip teasingly as she approached a small plateau not far from Diglett. She dropped Flash onto it and hovered right in front of her. "Be a good Fire type and stay there. No fire attacks from your side, or I might blow you off this very small platform…" she warned with a smug grin on her face.

Flash clutched onto the little ground she lay down on, carefully looking down below to see nothing but the black depths that seemed bottomless. She nodded weakly, too scared to even move.

"Good!" spat Torya as she flew back to Loopy and Francis, hovering above the two. "Now with your strongest asset taken care of, this just became cake." She cackled madly.

Loopy roared and charged at her, using all his power he had in his legs to jump up and attempt an aerial Low Kick at her. She just beat her wings to gain a little more height, avoiding the attack effortlessly. She then beat her wings so she dropped quickly, kicking Loopy's head with one of her talons, sending him face first onto the ground. She just cackled again as she let her gaze float over to Francis.

Loopy struggled to get up, reeling dizzily as he wiped the dust off him. "Mean… metal… birdie," he grunted, trying to shake his dizziness off. Torya just landed in front of him and calmly swatted her steel wing across his head, knocking him down again. She walked over to Francis, grinning widely.

"Now it's just you and me, Francis of Bluntenfang-"

"Tooth, Miss Torya," corrected Francis, backing away from her as she approached him.

Torya narrowed her yellow eyes and screeched before she was about to make a short jump onto the Rattata. But she felt someone grabbing her metal tail feather, stopping her from jumping. Growling, she looked over her shoulder to see Loopy having grabbed onto her tail to stop her.

"Me no defeat! Me strong and protect!" he growled as he pulled Torya towards him, tripping her. He let go and rushed forward, punching her across her beak. He followed up by using a Low Kick to kick her lower jaw. The attack connected perfectly, preventing a screech from the Armour Pokémon her beak was shut after the kick.

Torya rose up and tried to use Peck at the Fighting type, knowing that it was effective towards him. Thrusting her head towards Loopy to peck his face, she missed as he jumped out of the way. She screeched and attempted to peck at him again. She felt a something hot and painful strike her back. Her armoured back's temperature rose to a painful degree as she felt it was almost melting. She had been hit by a fire attack, but not an Ember.

Turning furiously around, she saw Francis sporting his smug smirk as he tugged his whisker pretentiously. "Flame Wheel, a powerful fire attack. Of course I had it charged up fully while Loopy kept you busy, Miss Torya," he said, grinning.

Torya looked at him and Loopy, gritting her teeth. She turned her gaze toward the Diglett and gritted her teeth even harder. Spreading her wings, she flew up. "Alright!" she muttered, "I can't face off against two fire users!" She flew higher up and sped off.

Loopy and Francis let off a long sigh. Loopy walked over to the Toolbox and picked out an Oran berry, putting it in his mouth and chewing it to replenish some of his strength. Swallowing it, he looked at Francis. "Franny good fight!" he commended with a smile.

The Rattata bowed slightly. "Why thank you, but we still have a problem. Negative, we have _two_ problems right now. The first being how to rescue Diglett, and the second how to get Miss Flash from that plateau," he muttered. He and Loopy walked up towards the ledge, Loopy wincing at the sight of the black abyss. "Definitely a problem." He rubbed his lower jaw, thinking hard.

"Come on, Francis!" Flash yelped impatiently. "This small platform doesn't feel safe!"

"Are you gonna help me back to Ma and Pa?" asked Diglett, feeling relieved that Torya was gone.

Francis scanned the abyss, and then the plateau Flash was on, looking over at Diglett's bigger plateau. "I am thinking!" he replied irately. "Never a grass type with Vine Whip when you need one," he grumbled.

"L-look out!" yelled Flash, having looked up at the sky to avoid looking down at the gaping abyss.

Francis snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the Fire type. Before he could answer, he felt himself being snatched by a pair of strong metal talons who carried him off the ground instantly. "Oh dear…" he just said as he had realized that Torya had returned.

The Skarmory cackled loudly. "You thought I'd be defeated that easily?" she screeched as she carried Francis tightly in her talons, approaching another small plateau near Flash.

"You cheating piece of metal scrap!" Flash yelled as she tried to lie as still as possible onto her plateau. Torya ignored her, knowing she couldn't do a thing about it. She dropped Francis onto the small pillar and flew back to Loopy, a confident smile of her beak.

"Now…" she started, opening her mouth slightly as she landed in front of Loopy. "Just you and I, Fighting type…" She let of an evil cackle that sent chills down Flash's spine as she stood superiorly over the Machop. Torya and Loopy kept staring at each other, with the Metal type smiling and the Fighting type growling as he readied his fists.

"_Come one, Loopy, you can beat her…"_ Flash thought as she did her best not to cause the plateau to sway if it would ever do so.


	21. Square Root of Showdown II

_**Chapter XXI: Square Root of Showdown II**_

The wind whistled eerily as two Pokémon, a Skarmory and a Machop were facing off against each other. The steel type looked slightly dented compared to the Machop who had recovered with an Oran berry earlier. But despite that fact, the Skarmory looked sturdier and stronger, sporting strong armour, wings, powerful talons and a high speed.

The grin on Torya's beak widened as she took one step towards Loopy. His back was facing the cliff and the small plateaus his friends were trapped on. But he still stood firmly even though the Skarmory had stepped forward. Clenching his fists, he stared right into her piercing yellow eyes, keeping himself alert of any sudden movements of his opponent.

The Skarmory quickly shot forward to bite at Loopy, but he quickly countered by punching her lower jaw, preventing her attack and her attempt to drive him closer to the cliff's ledge. Reeling, she stepped back a few steps away from Loopy, snarling. Torya suddenly leapt forward to kick at Loopy, but he caught her talons and pushed her away.

"_She's trying to push him off the ledge… cheap,"_ thought Flash as she watched the fight from her small plateau. She couldn't assist by firing off an Ember, since the Skarmory would knock her off if she did that. Same applied to Francis.

Loopy used the free time to run away from the ledge, and move onto safer grounds. Torya screeched gave pursuit, delivering a hard Peck attack in his back as she caught up with him. The stricken Machop fell down face first, but quickly scrambled to his feet, avoiding a talon that slammed to the ground where he was earlier.

"Birdie fight cheap!" he yelled, rushing forward to let loose of a Low Kick at the steel/flying type. Torya saw this and spread her wings to quickly fly off range from the attack, but Loopy jumped up and delivered a hard hook across her beak as she was retreating, sending her off balance in the air.

"_Damn he's not as weak as I suspected him to be,"_ thought Torya bitterly as she recovered from her temporary dizziness, flying higher up to get a safer distance between the two. She circled him from above, feeling a bit uneasy as he never let his gaze leave her. She flew over to Flash, hovering right in front of her, grinning.

Flash looked at her with dread filling her mind. "Wh-what?"

"Did I tell you to talk, girl?" the bird snapped, closing in to Flash. The Charmander clutched harder onto the small ground she was on, repressing the urge of looking down.

"Birdie leave Flash!" Loopy yelled from the other side. Torya turned her sharp head to cast a glance at him, and then sped towards him. She flew over him at a very low height, the short but strong gust knocking him down. She then snagged the Toolbox and flew to Diglett's plateau, settling down on it. Grinning, she opened it with her beak, peeking into the brown leather box curiously. She picked out an Oran berry and gulped it down along with an apple.

"There we go," she muttered happily. She flew over to Loopy again and landed on the ground behind him. Loopy turned and faced her, punching his fist into his palm.

Torya cackled and hopped towards him again to try knocking him towards the ledge so she could try pushing him to his doom, but he still managed to push her away.

"Birdie fight weak!" Loopy growled not taking his stare off her. Torya just growled back at the remark, flying away to allow Loopy to move further away from the dangerous ledge.

"Then fight me here then, you whiny kid," the Skarmory told him, landing on the ground, trying to hide an overly confident smirk. Loopy surged towards her, clenching his fists as he planned on releasing a hard Low Kick on her lower jaw. When he was in range, Torya grinned and used her Sand Attack, kicking some sand towards the Machop as he was approaching.

The sand struck both of Loopy's eyes, slowing his assault to a stop. He put his hands over his eyes in the pain the sand was causing. The sand was not only hurting his eyes, it was blinding him as well. As he rubbed his eyes to try getting the sand out, he felt a hard metal claw kick him and send him down to the ground.

"Loopy, no!" yelled Flash from her platform.

Francis sighed, remaining as still as ever on his plateau. "Such a reckless assault," he muttered, shaking his head.

Torya seized the opportunity and went for a Peck attack, delivering a hard peck on Loopy's chest. She then straightened her self up, standing tall before she stepped on his chest to pin him down. "Not so tough not, are you?" she teased, lowering her head again.

Loopy still rubbed his eyes. "Eye hurt…" he muttered, trying to punch her face, missing completely. He then tried to push the talon off him, but he was too much in a disadvantage.

Torya let out a screeching laugh as she shifted her weight onto her talon pinning Loopy. She quickly readjusted her grip so she had Loopy's arm trapped within her talons. "I win," she declared.

Both Flash and Francis shot glares at the triumphant Skarmory. There was nothing they could do to stop her, as an attempt to do so would cause her to knock them off their respective platforms. Diglett just shivered fearfully.

"I must say, little Machop, that you fought well," admitted Torya, lowering her head further. "But," she then said, leaving her beak slightly open, revealing her rows of sharp teeth, "this little battle made me quite famished." She licked her teeth with anticipation.

"What be famid?" Loopy asked, trying to break free from the talon's grip.

Flash however, jumped to her feet at Torya's words. "Loopy! Do something! She's going to eat you!" she yelled, having briefly forgotten the small plateau she was on. However, she soon realized that and looked down to see the seemingly infinite depths below her. She started to lose her balance due to the shock and tried to get down on all fours, but she fumbled and fell off the plateau. She managed to grab onto the ledge with one of her claws and held on for dear life, trying to grab onto the ledge with her other claw.

Loopy turned his head as much as he could to look at Flash, but could hardly do so. He looked back at Torya, gritting his teeth. "Skarom eat me no!" he snarled, trying to break free again to no avail. The Skarmory just cackled again.

"Francis, do somethiiihihiiing!" Flash wailed as she was panicking. She managed to grab onto the ledge with her other claw.

Francis just looked at her agitated. "Miss Flash, do I look like a psychic? There is nothing I can do! Try to stay calm!"

Flash whimpered as she slowly tried to climb up, struggling not to look down.

Torya, however, gave a wide smile as she watched Loopy try breaking free. "Oh please, can't you do better than that?" she mocked, twisting her talon slightly.

"M…me no… lose to… mean… birdie." He gritted his teeth, still having a hard time seeing with the sand in his eyes, "me focus!" he exclaimed, trying to focus his energy to become strong enough to break free.

Flash had slowly managed to climb up, her muscles tiring as she did so. As soon as she got up, she glued herself to the ground, refusing to move. "Come on, Loopy!" she yelled. She felt something cold and wet hit her back. Twitching at the sudden cold, she looked up. It was beginning to rain from the grey clouds above her.

"Don't think so," snapped the Skarmory as she pecked at Loopy's forehead, interrupting his concentration. The Peck had opened up a small wound on his forehead as it was beginning to bleed a little. She briefly looked up as she noticed it was beginning to rain. She scoffed; at least the rain wasn't any close to heavy. She looked down at the Machop, grinning.

Loopy used all of his strength to break free from the grip, but he couldn't. "Eye still hurt…" he whined as he was starting to cry. The crying did in fact help getting most of the sand out of his eyes, but as the pain still seared through his body, he tried harder to get off the grip. He tried to use Focus Energy once more, but was just attacked by another Peck from Skarmory. After that, he just stopped the struggle, relaxing every muscle in his body.

Torya's smile widened as she kept her grip as firm as ever. "Giving up, are you?" She lowered her head closer to Loopy's.

The Machop weakly nodded, still crying. "Y-yes… me no… strong…" he said as the raindrops hit the ground at a faster rate.

"Loopy!" cried Flash, shivering of the cold rain hitting her water sensitive scales, "don't give up! You can't let her do this!" She started to feel teary in her eyes as well, sensing the feeling of unfairness and despair. Francis said nothing, he just watched at Loopy helplessly.

"Now that's a good Machop," Torya commended, opening her mouth wide to give him a long lick over his saddened face. "You'll make a great dinner along with that stupid little Diglett once I've fixed you so to say." She licked her teeth, narrowing her eyes with pleasure before she looked over at Flash and Francis. "As for you two, you can enjoy your last seconds of life when this little pest is taken care of." She cackled again, looking at Loopy who had seemingly lost all hope of winning.

"_No, NO! This can't be happening!"_ Flash thought in defiance, tears rolling down her cheeks as the raindrops were beginning to mercilessly hit her scales. She watched with horror as the Skarmory clamped her powerful jaw around Loopy's head, about to break his neck in one or two swift moves. She started to feel suicidal, and thought about jumping down the depths below.

"Not so fast, you!" someone snapped. Torya let go of Loopy's head as she turned to face the one who had spoken. She spotted a group of three Pokémon approaching her. The one that had spoken was the largest of the three, and was none other than Lucifer the Golduck of Team Cutthroat. "You let that Diglett go, Skarmory!" he demanded, pointing one of his webbed finger at her.

Torya's grip tightened as she saw the Golduck, Sneasel and Slakoth approach her. She looked back at Loopy, who wasn't trying to break free.

"Lucifer, this rain soaks my beautiful fur, can we please hurry this up?" complained Narcis while checking his claws. Lucifer sighed and bonked his head lightly. "How dare you!" he quipped, quickly fixing the fur on his head.

The Golduck ignored his conceited partner and sent a stern look towards the Skarmory. "I won't repeat myself," he just said, crossing his arms. He tilted a little to catch a glimpse on what he believed was Diglett, but it turned out it was Loopy. He raised an eyebrow as he recognized him, and briefly looked over towards the big plateau where he spotted Diglett. He sighed. "Not you again…"

Torya screeched as she rammed Loopy against the rocky ground once before releasing him, speeding towards Lucifer. She approached at an increasing speed as she was about to rake the water type with her talons. The Golduck still stood there, looking at her with his arms crossed. When she was in range, Lucifer quickly caught one of her talons with his hand and swiftly spun around once before slamming her into the rocky wall.

Loopy was slowly getting up, rubbing his eyes some more, having gotten out most of the sand by now. He also wiped off the saliva he had gotten form Torya off his face, grimacing slightly.

Torya screeched again at the Golduck, surging towards him at a raging speed. Lucifer just scoffed and put one of his claws near the red gem on his forehead and pointing at Torya with the other, eyes closed. At the very moment the Skarmory was within striking range, Lucifer opened his eyes, both of them glowing blue. Torya was enveloped by a pale blue light as her movement was completely halted. He moved his pointing claw in a circle pattern as the Skarmory forcefully followed the movement.

He then stopped, watching Torya spin around uncontrollably of the effect of the Confusion attack. He calmly crossed his arms as she was regaining control, looking severely dizzied. "Narcis, Fenton, manoeuvre 'X-Strike'!" he ordered his team mates calmly.

The Sneasel quickly looked over at the Slakoth, who stood there absentmindedly scratching his head. Fenton gave a nod as he raised his clawed paws while Narcis unsheathed his long claws. They both ran towards where Torya was and were enveloped in a blackish shadow, disappearing into it as they both jumped.

A split second later, they appeared at Torya's height as she was confused. Narcis flew across her, slashing her chest while Fenton slashed across her face diagonally. Both attacks left a faint black trail behind them, forming a brief X over her. Fenton and Narcis both landed gracefully on the ground, while Torya fell down right in front of Lucifer.

"Bravo," said the Sneasel, clapping his paws before he flicked his red ear.

"_Whoa…"_ thought Flash in awe, _"a double Faint Attack…"_

Lucifer stepped forward, using his webbed foot to pin Torya's head to the ground. "Give up yet?" he calmly asked, putting his hands on his hips. The Skarmory weakly flapped with her metal wings as she tried to get up.

"Get your slimy foot off me," she growled.

Lucifer just looked at her, ignoring the remark. "I'm not repeating myself."

Torya stopped struggling, drawing a long sigh in defeat. "Fine," she slowly said, sounding much calmer than before as the effects of the Confusion attack was wearing off. The rain was also slowly stopping.

Lucifer lifted his foot from Torya's head, stepping back. He crossed his arms as he watched her slowly stand up. "We're here to get Diglett back from _you_, and seeing how the fight turned out it really isn't recommended for you to try and stop us. I highly recommend you to cooperate."

Torya grumbled something about rescue teams, casting a quick glance towards Flash and Francis. "Alright," she muttered reluctantly, flying over to the Diglett. She approached him and picked him up with her talons, carrying him back to the leader of Team Cutthroat. The ground type quickly burrowed into the hard ground before popping his head up again.

"Th-thanks, but what about the other t-two?" he said feebly. Lucifer looked at him for a while, and then looked at the Charmander and Rattata who were trapped on their respective plateaus.

"Fine," said Lucifer blankly rolling his eyes. "Skarmory, get those two as well, they don't seem very comfortable on those small platforms." Torya grumbled a bit before complying, flying over to Francis and picked him up. And after putting the Rattata on firm ground she flew over to Flash, doing the same with her.

When the members of Team Brawl were united and their Toolbox recovered, it had stopped raining. Torya had taken off to her territory and Loopy ran up to Flash to give her a hug. She wasn't in the mood and tried pushing him away. But he was too happy to care about that.

Francis, however, was glaring wildly at the Sneasel. He felt that his pride had been hurt, a lot.

"So the great Francis of Bluntentooth IV… junior couldn't deal with a mere Skarmory," taunted Narcis, smirking gleefully as he flicked his ear. Francis glared daggers at him.

"Can it, Narcis!" spat Lucifer, getting in between the two. The dark/ice type just sent a smug smirk to Francis. The Golduck turned to Flash who was being hugged by the fighting type. "Just what were you doing here?" he seriously questioned the fire type, crossing his arms.

Loopy let go of Flash so she could answer. "We were going to rescue Diglett," she simply replied, looking up at the much bigger water type.

Lucifer's eyes widened slightly and his left hand twitched slightly. "You… rescue Diglett? Say, you're not one of those who steal other teams' assignments, are you?" he questioned, sounding a little bit agitated.

Flash looked at the bigger Pokémon with anger in her eyes. "No!" she snapped, "Dugtrio asked us to!"

Lucifer narrowed his eyes as he studied her for a while, his beak slowly revealing a scornful look. "Well, since we did rescue him while you were defeated, we're going back to the cave entrance to speak with Dugtrio." He raised his clawed hand and pushed the button on his rescue team badge, disappearing in a yellow light along with his team mates and Diglett.

Flash snorted as she turned to look at Francis, who shook with anger. Loopy was just looking up at the sky. Figuring that an exchange of words with Francis wasn't quite possible at the moment, she approached Loopy. "Hey," she said to him.

Loopy looked at her. "Flash angry still?" he asked warily. "Me sorry no win. Skarom strong."

Flash patted him on his shoulder. "It's okay, Loopy. I thought we were going to die." She slowly embraced her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. When he was about to hug back she continued, "not a hard hug, Loopy, I'm kinda… you know, happy that we're still alive." Loopy carefully returned the hug.

"Pardon me for having to ruin the moment, Miss Flash," snarled an impatient and agitated Francis. "Are we supposed to be here all evening? Night is on its way!"

Flash let go of Loopy and sighed, fiddling with her rescue team badge. Pushing the button they were transported to their base in a yellow flash.

* * *

As soon as they had arrived, Francis was the first trot into the house. "A whole day of nothing but failure," he grumbled as he entered the house, fuming. Loopy just sighed, putting his hand over Flash's shoulder.

"I'm tired…" she muttered tiredly, lifting Loopy's hand off her as she began walking towards her shack of a house. Loopy followed her. When inside she tiredly walked to her bed made up of hay. Francis had already curled up and was sleeping in his corner, looking upset in his sleep. She dimmed down her tail flame as she curled up in her bed, closing her eyes to sleep. Loopy walked over to his bed, laying down on his back and pulled the blanket over and went to sleep last of the three.


	22. Miscalculated Consequences

_**Chapter XXII: Miscalculated Consequences**_

The Charmander woke up sharply, having had a bad dream about what had happened yesterday. She sat up in her pile of hay and looked after her two team mates. Francis was still asleep, curled up in his corner, while Loopy was snoring lightly, having kicked off the blanket in his sleep. She looked out of the doorway to see that the sun was about to rise soon. Before she exited her house, she walked up to Loopy and pulled the blanket over him, tucking him in.

Flash felt a chilly cold envelop her as she arrived to the outside of her house. She rubbed her scales to keep her body temperature up as she approached the mailbox. Opening the lid with a creaking sound, she sighed as it turned out to be empty except for the pole inside of it. She sighed, sitting down next to the mailbox.

"_Pelipper hasn't come yet, I guess,"_ she thought as she looked towards where the sun would rise. She hadn't seen a sunrise for quite some time, and she figured that it would be enough for her to cheer up a little after yesterday's events. _"He almost died… and when we were back he just smiled again as if nothing had happened,"_ she thought before dozing off due to her tiredness.

* * *

Flash quickly snapped out of her nap, rising to her feet groggily as her vision was blurry and almost doubled. The sun was already rising and she realized her nap had been lasting for an half an hour. She spotted three individuals approaching her, and their chatting had probably been the cause of her waking up. She put one of her paws against the mailbox so she wouldn't fall over due to her tired dizziness.

"Here again?" a purple snake like Pokémon complained as he slithered along with his comrades, "but last time there was just a delivery job in there."

The bigger, bulkier Pokémon next to the Ekans laughed dismissingly. "Keh, better than nothing, Cletus," he told the poison type.

The leftmost of the trio was the tallest, but not as bulky as the Gengar next to her. "Hoo hoo, what would you expect from a dump like this?" she remarked as she had her hands clasped, bobbing her head slightly.

"H-hey!" Flash addressed the obnoxious trio, "who are you and why are you insulting my house?"

The trio cast her a brief glance, and then went back to discussing with each other.

"Wolfgang," started the Medicham, addressing the Gengar, "last time we were here all we found in that mailbox was a meagre delivery job and a pole."

Wolfgang the Gengar laughed again. "But today is a new day, Griselda, and new days means new opportunities to steal job offers," he concluded, clapping his hands.

Cletus sighed. "Great, say that when you're right in front of the owner of the house who stands next to the mailbox," he muttered.

"Hey!" Flash cried, stepping forward, "so it was you who stole my mail yesterday?" She felt her body heat up as her tail flame flared up. "You assholes! Who do you think you are stealing my stuff!" she growled at the trio, who just looked back at her nonchalantly.

Wolfgang stepped forward. "We are Team Meanies, We aspire for world domination!" he proudly announced with a wide smile, pointing up to the sky.

Flash stared at the trio, her anger slowly diminishing as a slight laughter was about to break out. "Team Meanies? Why not Team Dumbass when you're at it! Get real!" she burst out laughing. She was having a hard time to keep up with her breathing as her fits of laughs made it hard for her to do so. However, her fits of laughter caused her to forget one, simple important rule.

Making fun of higher evolved Pokémon usually ends up in pain.

* * *

Flash's eyes weakly fluttered open as she was slowly recovering from her unconsciousness. She found herself lying down, but couldn't move a muscle due to her injuries over her body. She kept looking up, slowly realizing she was inside of a house, but not her house. Her vision was still blurry after having recovered from her unconsciousness, but it was steadily coming back to her.

She felt a drumming headache in her forehead, grunting as she came to realize that. _"That stupid team sure beat me up bad,"_ she thought bitterly, unable to move her arms or legs. She strained a little bit more, giving up soon after as she tried to figure out where she was. She craned her head slightly to the left, trying to be careful not to hurt herself. The home seemed rather tidy, and a fireplace was lit, giving it a nice, comfortable feel.

"He-hello?" she called weakly, feeling pain in her jaws as she moved them to speak. She was somewhat curious to meet the one who had taken her in. She got no reply. She resumed figuring out where she was, as she had a feeling she had been here before. The floor was pretty tidy as well, and there was even a fine reddish rug on front of her bed. She felt a faint scent of lavender, and soon came to realize it came from the bedside table next to her. She looked at the small grey-bluish bowl where she could spot some dried lavender giving off the soothing scent. It reminded her of her old times.

Her eyes widened when she suddenly realized where she possibly could've been. _"No… why now?"_ she thought angrily as she tried to get up, failing as her injuries prevented her from fulfilling the task. She gritted her teeth in anger upon the realization that she couldn't sneak away.

A Charmeleon came out from a doorway that led to a kitchen of the house. A smirk formed on his reptilian features as he noticed Flash had woken up. "Good morning, Flashie," he greeted lowly as he walked up to his bed were Flash lay. He held up one of his red scaled, clawed hands to gesture her not to speak. "You're hurt, sweetheart, talking wouldn't be an option right now." He sat down next to her chest, letting his red tail press against her side.

She clenched her teeth and growled, feeling further pain. She tried to move her head away from his approaching hand as he gently stroked her cheek.

"You're cute when you do that," he admitted, widening his smile. "But don't, you've been beaten up badly and you need to relax."

She sighed angrily through her nostrils and obliged, feeling the aches in her jaws slowly fade away. _"Out of all houses I end up in, it _had_ to be Don's,"_ she thought angrily, imagining how it would look like if she fired of an Ember to his face. She refrained from executing the action and looked away. Don got off the bed and went off to his kitchen. She looked curiously at the kitchen entrance and wondered what he was up to.

A minute later he came out from the kitchen wearing a tall chef hat on his head. In his hands he held a small wooden bowl which contents letting off a faint steam. "Ta-da!" he chirped happily letting off a very happy smile as he proudly presented what he held. "Care to guess what it is?" he asked smugly as he took off the chef hat, tossing it into the kitchen.

Flash inhaled through her nostrils to catch the smell of the contents of the bowl Don held as he slowly walked towards her. Her eyes widened as she recognized it. "M… my favourite," she slowly admitted, feeling her mouth watering.

"Correct," Don replied, sitting down next to her again with the bowl in one hand, "Your favourite soup. My very own Vegetable Soup mix with the extra Oran touch put in for healing purposes," he announced as he dipped a spoon into the tasty broth. As he lifted the sleek wooden spoon out from the bowl, balancing the contents in it, he said, "Open wide," as he stuck it into Flash's mouth.

Flash bit down on the spoon, sucking up the tasty broth as well as getting a faint taste of wood. When Don withdrew the spoon, he sent her a pleased smile as she was savouring the taste. He kept feeding her the soup with the spoon, and she started to feel slightly better. She slowly rose up and sat next to the Charmeleon.

"Still as delicious as ever," she said as Don handed the bowl to her. She grabbed it and put the tip to her mouth, tilting it upwards so she could greedily gulp down the rest of the soup. After finishing the bowl, she handed it to Don and wiped her mouth, burping lightly afterwards. "That hit the spot."

Don slowly snuck his arm over Flash's shoulder, resting it onto her as he pulled her closer to him. "So, how do you feel?" he gently asked.

Flash looked at him and tried pushing away the claw on her shoulder. "Better, I suppose," she replied, not feeling any pain in her jaws. "But you really got the nerve carrying me over to your house," she then told him, failing to push him away.

"Had to make sure you'd be safe from that brute," he quickly answered, gritting his teeth. His facial expression quickly turned into a frown as a low, inner snarl could be heard from him. "You know what I think of fighting types. They're all show offs, and if they didn't get what they want, they retort to violence!" He clenched his claws and narrowed his eyes.

Flash stopped trying to push him off her and stared dumbfounded at him. "Wha… what do you mean?"

Don turned his head to look at her, his expression turning into the caring one again. "Poor thing… you don't remember?" he softly said as he swiftly embraced his arms around the Charmander, hugging her softly. "A Machop had knocked you unconscious when I found you by your house. After having trouble with chasing off the dim witted bastard, I figured it'd be safer to bring you here so the brute wouldn't try to attack you again," he explained, resting his head on her shoulder.

If Don hadn't been resting his head on Flash's shoulder, he wouldn't have noticed her eyes widening with shock. _"He thinks Loopy was the one who beat me up,"_ she thought fearfully, feeling her lower lip trembling with fear.

"It's coming back to you now, huh?" Don assumed, lifting his head from her shoulders and stared into her eyes, "you should stay away from them. They only want trouble."

Flash was silent, not knowing what to say. She knew Don was partially right about one thing, that fighting types usually looked for trouble. The encounter with the Tyrogue inside Mt Steel proved that. But she knew Loopy was different, but if she would tell that to Don, he'd get the wrong idea about her.

"He was lucky this time, that damned fighting type," the Charmeleon growled, "next time I see him close to you, I'll remodel his face with my claws!" He clenched his hand, growling his body temperature rose.

"I… I don't think he'll try that again," said Flash quietly, hugging Don trying to calm him down. Even though she disliked him for what he had done to her in the past, there was still something about him that she liked. She sighed. He had been her girlfriend a few weeks ago, and he had broken up with her for a female Quilava. And right after that she got to hear that he had been hanging out with a Growlithe as well. But even though she had been through that, she still had a little bit of feelings for Don.

And she hated it. She still liked him to the point that she wouldn't tell his other girlfriends that he had multiple girlfriends. She could especially not do anything about that _now,_ after he had been nice enough to take care of her after she had been beat up by those idiot Team Meanies.

She felt his claws caress her cheek as she was reminiscing. "Sorry about that, baby, but you know how much I dislike fighting types," he told her lowly. She just nodded. He grinned and with a swift movement of his left hand, he lightly squeezed the base of her tail..

She gasped and pushed him away hard enough for him to fall off the bed. "DON!" she yelled, her face twisted with fury. He chuckled as he slowly got to his feet, holding his palms directed at her in a defenceless gesture.

"Relax, sweetheart," he said slyly, "you seemed pretty lost in thought, so I figured I had to do something to help you snap back to reality."

Flash jumped off the bed and took a few steps back away from Don. "You know how much I hate it when you do that!" she scolded him as he just grinned back at her. She knew he was probably grinning at the blush that was growing on her face.

"Yeah, I suppose that's why I did it," he said naughtily, chuckling afterwards. But then he lowered his arms and stood tall, turning a bit more serious. "You wanna leave, don't you?"

She looked at the taller fire type, caught off guard by his sudden change of behaviour. "Y-yeah?" she said a little uneasily. She stiffened up as he began to walk up to her.

"Flashie dear, I brought you here, took my time preparing your favourite soup. Is this the thanks I get?" When in range, he reached carefully out with his clawed hand and grabbed onto her smaller paws, pulling her closer to him. "Don't I at least deserve a thanking kiss?" he asked her softy, sniffing her face lightly.

She felt slightly entranced with his speech, but tried shaking it off by thinking of how many other female fire types Don had been hanging out with earlier. "Grr… alright," she growled as she quickly kissed his forehead and then tried to turn away to walk to the exit.

Don, however, refused to let go, and pulled Flash back to him. He used his free hand to grab onto her shoulder as he without warning kissed her by the mouth. The kiss lasted for a good ten seconds before he decided it was enough. Finished, he still held her arm tightly. "Now that wasn't too bad?" he said smugly before turning serious again. "Now you watch yourself, Flashie, I wouldn't like if you turned out to get beaten down by that brute again, y'hear?" he advised her.

She nodded, wanting to leave Don's house faster. She still tried to stop glaring at him for the long kiss he had given her. "What's the worst that could happen?" she muttered, still trying to make Don let go of her arm.

Don tilted his head slightly. "Well, the worst would be you being friends with a fighting type, especially that Machop idiot." He laughed, "Like that'd ever happen!"

Flash looked away slightly with guilt and a slight hint of fear. If Don got to know… She looked at him forced a smile. "Nah, why you think of that?" she answered him.

Don's smile slowly faded, and his eyes suddenly widened as his grip around her arm tightened to the point it hurt her. "Because you would _never…_ do such a thing to me!" he hissed through his clenched teeth threateningly, baring his teeth at her. He glared at her like that for a short while before he let go of her arm. "Now off with you, before my other little lovey dovey arrives," he told her, motioning her to leave.

Flash slowly backed a few steps from him before running out of his house.

* * *

After having walked back to the town square, Flash wondered if she should go to her house and see if she could find Loopy or Francis there. If Don had been telling the truth about chasing Loopy off, odds were that he could've been anywhere. He hadn't mentioned Francis, so there'd be the chance that he had slept through that event.

"Hey!" she head someone call after her. She recognized the voice and turned to the direction the voice had come from. "There you are! Where the blazes have you been?" cried Kangaskhan from her storage. "Get over here!"

Flash trudged over to the Kangaskhan storage, looking up sheepishly at the larger Pokémon. "You've seen Loopy?" she asked quietly. The large parent Pokémon grabbed the Charmander by her scruff as she pulled her inside the building. Carrying the dire type to the storage downstairs of the building, she tossed her onto the floor.

She growled lowly as she loomed over the smaller Pokémon. "You've got some explaining to do!" she bellowed. "Loopy came to me crying, and said that a 'mean charomandor' had told him off!"

Flash tried to object as she jumped to her feet. "But that-"

"Don't interrupt me!" snapped Kangaskhan, "I knew you were thievish, but doing that to Loopy? I never thought you'd stoop that low! He's the reason you're not behind bars, Charmander, and this is how you thank him?" Kangaskhan gave Flash a hard slap across her cheek with her powerful paw, knocking the Charmander down.

"I didn't do anything to him!" she yelled as she lay sprawled on the ground, holding her cheek in pain. "Could you listen to me?"

Kangaskhan narrowed her eyes and grunted. She bent down and picked Flash up, dropping her soon after on a chair. "Speak."

Flash looked at the bigger Pokémon fearfully, trying to concentrate. "I was going out this morning to get my mail, and then I was knocked out by some loser idiots!" she started, ending with a yell as she thought of Team Meanies. "Then I woke up at Don's crib, and he told me that it had been _him_ chasing Loopy off!"

Kangaskhan looked at Flash for a few seconds before taking a step back. "I didn't know you were dating him again," she remarked.

Flash's face turned bright red with anger. "I'm NOT going out with him! I just want to know where Loopy is! I'm worried sick of him being alone!"

"So it was that Charmeleon all the time," muttered Kangaskhan with a sigh, "I told him to go to the Makuhita Dojo and train. You know fighting types usually get a kick out of that." Flash nodded, and was about to leave when Kangaskhan grabbed a hold of her arm. "How's the cash flow coming in?" she asked.

Flash gulped as she was forced to look at the manager of Kangaskhan storage. "Well, uh, yesterday didn't end well, and uh…"

Kangaskhan nudged the fire type's cheek. "You still owe me fourteen thousand Poké in case you don't remember," she reminded before letting Flash go. "But try keeping the good work up."

Flash said nothing and waved goodbye to Kangaskhan as she left the bank. She ran to the centre of the town square and looked around, trying to remember where the Makuhita Dojo was located. After asking some of the locals, she got to know it was located at the southernmost part of the town and headed there.

She ran towards the location of the training building and had soon arrived. She was in front of a big, yellow rectangular building. On top of the entrance was a dumbbell sign indicating it was a area of training in case one couldn't read. And Loopy didn't seem to be able to read. A big, chubby Pokémon came out from the entrance and spotted Flash.

The larger Pokémon gave her a warm smile and waved at her. His yellowy hair was tied in a knot over his head and the fur on his hands was blackish as to resemble gloves. The Makuhita, the supposed manager of the dojo, beckoned Flash to come. "Hey there, you've come to train at my dojo?" he called friendly.

"Uh, not really," she replied, scratching the back of her head, "I'm looking for a friend of mine who's supposed to be at your place."

The Makuhita nodded, patting his belly. "Sure, go ahead and look inside. But you do look like you need some training," he suggested as Flash approached the bigger fighting type. He guffawed loudly.

"_Says the fatty," _thought Flash as she looked up at the guts Pokémon. "He's a Machop, is he still in there?" Makuhita nodded before heading off to the backyard of the dojo. Flash sighed for along time before she opened the door to the dojo. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and headed inside.


	23. Dojo Multiplied with Pride

_**Chapter XXIII: Dojo Multiplied with Pride**_

The moment Flash had entered the Makuhita Dojo, she felt the urge to leave. The majority of the Pokémon inside were fighting types, and she noticed some casting scornful looks at her. Whether the looks was because of her weak looking body compared to their standards, or they knew _who _she was with her bad habits, she didn't know. They then ignored her and resumed their training, much to her pleasure.

The Charmander kept her eyes peeled for her Machop friend, hoping that there wouldn't be other Machop inside. All she could see in the first room was various exercise equipment which were being put to constant use by training Pokémon, and some Pokémon doing push ups and sit ups. She felt a slight smell of sweat in the air and winced slightly.

She approached a tall, red Pokémon who just had finished lifting some weights. As she approached, the larger Pokémon took notice of her, craning her neck to look at her while she flicked her long cream coloured crest.

"Wanna spar or sumthin?" the Blaziken asked her, cracking her brown clawy knuckles with anticipation.

Flash regretted that she ever considered approaching the fellow fire type and took a step back. "Uh, no, eh, I was just-"

"Then what's the deal then?" interrupted the Blaziken, holding up one of her hands in front of Flash's face. She quickly glanced over towards the eastern corner of the room, eyeing the punching bags. Before she decided to walk to them and train a bit, she turned to Flash. "Don't bother me again, unless you want a boot to the head!" she warned before she left for the punching bags.

"Gee… excuse me, Grumpig," Flash muttered lowly. Blaziken instantly wheeled around and stared down at her. "Nothing, nothing!" she quickly excused. Blaziken just narrowed her eyes, sending a piercing stare into Flash's now scared eyes before she resumed her approach towards the punching bags.

Flash let out a silent sigh of relief, happy that she hadn't been beat up by the Blaziken. She had at least hoped that the fighting/fire type would be the least friendly towards one with a similar type.

"Ah, don't mind her," someone said behind Flash, causing her to jump a feet in the air in fright. She quickly spun around to face the one who had spoken. She saw another tall fighting type, a Hitmonchan. What differed him form the rest was that he wore golden boxing gloves instead of the usual red along with his purplish tunic and shoes. "She's training real hard for the tournament," he finished, explaining Blaziken's behaviour.

Flash looked over her shoulder to see the Blaziken kicking the punching bag fiercely. She then looked back at the Hitmonchan with the golden boxing gloves. He noticed her looking at them.

"They're cool, aren't they?" he boasted, his mouth quirking into a grin as he lifted one hand. "I won the last fighting tournament, and got to colour these beauties, you see," he continued, "I'm sure to win again, right, Aska?" he finished, addressing the Blaziken Aska. She just snorted, kicking the bag hard in response.

Flash just rolled her eyes, sweat dropping. _"Fighting types…"_ she thought. "Yeah, cool, I guess," she faked her impression, "but have you seen a Machop around here? He's a little weak in the speaking department, but he likes fighting," she proceeded to ask.

The Hitmonchan put his left hand on his lower jaw, rubbing it thoughtfully with his boxing glove. "You might want to try checking out the back of the dojo, thought I saw him there," he suggested helpfully before looking over at the Blaziken. "Hey, Aska, it's called a punching bag for a reason!" he mocked.

Aska stopped kicking the bag and shot the Hitmonchan a glare. "You better enjoy your place at the top while it lasts, Xavier, 'cause I'm gonna snag it from ya in the tournament in two days!" she snapped.

This caught Flash's curiosity, and she looked at the supposed champion Xavier. "What tournament?" she asked.

Xavier cast a look of excitement towards her. "Once every month, the Dojo arranges a fighting tournament only for fighting types. Not only does the winner get honour and fame, but there's also a lot of cash involved!" he explained eagerly. Flash's eyes lit up at the mention of money. "But don't get your hopes up with your Machop friend; he'd probably get eliminated after the first round."

Flash looked at the Hitmonchan, slightly offended. "He's kinda strong, you know," she protested lowly.

Xavier laughed and patted Flash's head with his boxing glove. "Strength is nothing if you don't know how to use it!" he simply retaliated, giving Flash a little piece of advice.

The Charmander didn't reply, put clenched her paws into fists as she had the urge of setting Xavier's gloves on fire. But she used all of her willpower to avoid doing so, seeing as the Hitmonchan was the current Dojo Champion. So she forced a smile to Xavier, who smiled back at her.

"Yeah, I suppose," she said through gritted teeth, "but I better off go look for him now," she finished.

Flash turned to head for the room in the back of the big dojo. As she walked, she heard the two bigger fighting types squabble with each other on who would win the next tournament. As she put her paw on the door handle, she wondered if she could get Loopy to participate. He did like fighting, but she could really use that cash prize in case he really did win.

When she opened the door, the first thing she took notice of was the two fighting rings in the centre, vaguely resembling boxing rings. The left one was occupied by a Hitmonlee and a Meditite, the latter calmly blocking the oncoming kicks from the kick happy Pokémon. She looked towards the right ring and saw two Machoke – a darker and bulkier evolved form of Machop – wrestling fiercely with each other, trying to get the other one down the mat and pin him.

"Come on, your footwork is lacking!" shouted the manager of the Makuhita Dojo at the Hitmonlee who was getting aggravated when he couldn't strike the smaller Pokémon.

Flash figured she could at least talk to him without any nasty repercussions and approached the fat Pokémon. She hesitated slightly, seeing the Makuhita being busy telling Hitmonlee what to do. But said fighting type was promptly knocked out by the Meditite in one well planned strike. Makuhita sighed and put his hand on his forehead and climbed into the ring.

"Trubo, wake up," he said, picking the Hitmonlee named Trubo up. He shook the unconscious Pokémon a little, and he slowly woke up. "Trubo," Makuhita said again with hints of disappointment in his voice as he dropped the Hitmonlee to the ground, "have you been slacking off?"

Trubo sat on the canvas, looking slightly away. "Maybe…" he muttered.

"You're too aggressive, it was way too easy for Nahees to read your movements, you need to work on being less predictive, 'kay?" Makuhita continued, grabbing one of Trubo's hands to pull him to a stand. Afterwards, he patted the Hitmonlee on his back. "Cheer up, the tournament is in two days, so you better be in shape until then!"

Flash decided that it was a good time to jump in and ask Makuhita about Loopy's whereabouts. She passed the Meditite who was apparently done with his training for the day. Before she even reached the ropes, Makuhita took notice of her.

"Oh, you again?" he said cheerfully, "you looking for your sparring partner?" He put his hands on his hips as he tilted his head, looking at her thoroughly.

Flash stepped back, not wanting to fight anyone. However, Makuhita probably believed she and Loopy used to spar with each other. But she realized he wasn't really looking at her, but at what she was holding.

"You got to borrow the Champion's gloves? They won't even fit!" he burst out, grinning slightly.

Flash's eyes widened at that and looked at her paws, she was holding Xavier's pair of golden boxing gloves. _"How? This is getting really stupid… I'm so good at stealing that it's ridiculous!"_ she thought angrily.

The door to the main room burst open by an angry Hitmonchan without his boxing gloves, revealing his bony fingers. Xavier's eyes widened at the sight of his gloves in the paws of Flash's. He rushed over to her and quickly grabbed her neck, ripping the gloves out of her grasp.

"What kind of shenanigans are you pulling on me, huh?" he yelled, staring angrily into her eyes. He raised his free fist and held it at Flash's eye level. "I don't even know how you managed to take them off my hands, but if you ever do that again I'll-"

Makuhita put his hand on Xavier's shoulder pad and pulled lightly to get the champion's attention. "Easy now, it was probably just a joke. Let it slide," he said. Xavier looked over his shoulder towards Makuhita, and then at Flash. He suddenly let her go and put on his golden boxing gloves before he left for the room he previously was in. Flash could spot Aska through the open door laughing at Xavier.

"It just happens, you know," she excused. Xavier stopped, but didn't turn around. He stood there shortly before exiting the room anyway, probably ignoring what she said. She sighed. "Why does this always happen to me?" she grumbled.

"Don't worry, he's a nice guy," assured Makuhita as he patted Flash's head, "he just doesn't like to be made fun of, especially not by Aska the Blaziken."

Flash looked up at him, smiling slightly as she felt a little better. "He's scared of losing to her, isn't he?" she concluded.

Makuhita rolled his eyes. "Well, they faced each other in the finals during the last tournament, and it turned out to be very close between the two."

"This tournament, what's it called?" she asked, getting curious about the tournament again.

Makuhita's eyes lit up with excitement as his smile widened. "You mean "Spathi's Fight-Out!"?" he announced proudly. There was a loud crash from one of the rings, and it turned out one of the Machoke had slammed the other one to the canvas with a suplex-like move.

Flash winced at the title of the tournament, but figured that it could've been worse. "Who's Spathi?" Makuhita pointed at himself, revealing his name. "Oh…"

"You'd like your friend to join? It's not too late to sign him up!" he encouraged with a smile, slapping her back.

Flash realized she had forgotten about Loopy, and looked around the room quickly. "Speaking of him, where is he? Wasn't he supposed to be here?"

Spathi looked around the room as well, not able to spot Loopy. "Strange… I could swear your Machop friend was here when you came in. He cannot have left for the main room, so he could be in the shower rooms," he told her, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Flash quickly made a break for the doors she believed leading to the shower rooms. She was getting slightly tired of this place, and wanted to find Loopy as soon as possible. But before she reached the door, she felt Spathi's strong hand grab on of her arms to stop her.

"Hey, hey, hey! You can't go in there! Males only!" he burst out as he pulled Flash away from the door. "You'll have to wait until he gets out."

"Come on! I'm worried of him, we got kinda separated this morning," she explained, but Spathi held his palm in front of her face, frowning.

"No exceptions! Last time I let that happen, I caught some Romeo Charmeleon making out with a Combusken one night. And it didn't go unnoticed either! This is a training dojo where you train to get stronger and to become a better fighter. It's not a place to become a better kisser!" he rambled, his mood having changed completely. He clenched his fists angrily as he remembered the event. "Of course those stupid violators are _banned_ from my dojo for the rest of their life, but that stupid Charmeleon still knows that he somehow won!"

The door to the showers slowly opened, emitting a creaking sound as it did so. Both the Charmander and Makuhita turned their heads to look at it.

Loopy carefully peeked out from the entrance, having recently taken a bath to clean himself up after the work out. He looked a little scared when he stared at Flash. "Mean charomelon say me no see Flash," he said lowly, a hint of sadness in his voice. "But me no hurt Flash, he no listen," he continued, pointing at the scar across his face.

"_Don… you asshole,"_ thought Flash angrily as she clenched her paws. "Don't care about Don, he's a dumbass. No one tells me who I can see or not see, you got that Loopy?" she said with determination as she playfully poked his tummy. He flinched at first, grinning, but then went back to his melancholic state.

"Don be charomelon?" Loopy quietly asked. Flash nodded. "Don say me hurt Flash, but me no…" He looked slightly away and rubbed his eyes, possibly shedding some tears that were building up in his eyes.

Flash approached him and put her paw on his shoulder. "It was some other idiots, Loopy, I'll show you them later," she replied. She quickly glanced over at the Makuhita, who stood there with his hands on his hips, eyeing them suspiciously.

Spathi suddenly glanced over to the door leading to the main room of the dojo. "I have to leave now; I'm training Trubo for the moment, and he has had enough rest for now. I'm warning you, Miss Charmander, _no_ romantic stuff in my dojo!" he warned before leaving for the door.

Flash and Loopy looked as the manager slammed the door shut after him. "Makuhita angry be," he stated, closing the door to the showers.

The Charmander rolled her eyes. _"Of course he can pronounce fighting types' species names…"_ However, she got to think about Loopy's amnesia. "Hey, Loopy, have you met someone you know?" she asked.

Loopy's shoulders slumped down as he sighed. "No… me no find…" he muttered lowly. "Flash only friend."

Flash refused to let Loopy give up that quickly. She looked over at the fighting ring where the two Machoke were wrestling. They had already finished their match and had just exited the ring to head for the showers. "Hey," she called after them, even though they were already heading her direction, "you know who this is?"

Both of the Machoke looked down at Flash, and then at Loopy. "Nope," they both said, shaking their heads, "has he lost his parents?" the left one asked with some concern in his voice.

This made Flash think. She never knew if Loopy had had any parents around here, and judging by his somewhat childish behaviour at times, he seemed pretty young. She saw his thoughtful look at the bigger, bulkier Pokémon. She had never thought about it herself since he didn't care much about her own family.

"He doesn't remember much," she said quietly.

The Machoke both looked at Loopy. "Well, uh, we haven't seen him on Mt Disciple either. Hey, kid, is there something at all you remember?"

Loopy thought briefly, and then shrugged. "Me no know real name, so name is Loopy," he said.

Both of the Machoke exchanged confused looks at Loopy's statement. "This would be a tough nut to crack," the right one stated, scratching his head, "We're going to Mt Disciple anyway, so we could ask some of the inhabitants there if they know of an odd speaking Machop. You want us to take him with us?" the right one requested.

Loopy edged closer to Flash, feeling a little insecure in front of the two bigger Pokémon. "Um… no want," he said, hiding a little behind Flash.

The two Machoke looked at each other again and the left one started to chuckle.

"What, is there something on my face?" growled Flash, trails of smoke billowing out of her nostrils.

"Nah, it's just fun to watch a cute li'l couple like you," the left one quipped, "he seems to want to stay with you, so it's pretty obvious, heh."

The right Machoke slapped the left ones' back of the head. "You're the one to talk, Kuglo," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "Anyhow, sorry we couldn't help you with your friend's origins. But kid," he addressed Loopy, "make sure you train enough so you grow up to be like me, y'hear?" he told Loopy before entering the shower room, dragging Kuglo with him.

"Me will!" Loopy replied with great determination as he thumped his chest proudly. He looked at Flash to see that her orange scale had reddened at her cheeks, and seemed grumbling. "Maybe no more train, me no sweat after bath!" he then said happily, patting Flash's shoulder to get her attention.

Flash looked at her friend and team mate. "I wanna leave, that's okay with you?" He nodded, and the two headed for the main room. When they were before the door, Flash cast Loopy a look. "By the way, you wanna enter the fighting tournament that starts soon?" she asked.

Loopy suddenly lit up. "Flash mean "Spathi's Fight Out!"?" She nodded with excitement. Loopy did small jump of joy. "Ya, it be fun!" he exclaimed.

Flash looked at him oddly, but shrugged it off. "Great, let's find Makuhr... Makihu.. Mikut-"

"Makuhita!" Loopy corrected, slapping Flash's back.

The Charmander grumbled and poked Loopy's tummy in response, causing him to yelp. She then opened the door and entered the main room of the dojo.

"Oh boy!" someone exclaimed at the moment she entered, "everyone hold onto your stuff or this li'l girlie will snag it before you know it!" It was Xavier, and he sent a slightly smug grin towards Flash after his announcement. His grin widened when he saw her right next to Loopy. "Oooh, found your little boyfriend, huh? How cute!"

Flash felt her scales at her cheeks heat up as she slowly came to realize she was blushing. First she wondered how it would be if she'd manage to steal the Hitmonchan's tunic without knowing, but that would probably end up for the worse. "At least I'm not the male who dresses like a girl!" she shot back. Everyone in the room became dead silent and stared at Flash.

Xavier's eyebrows twitched slightly as he stared at Flash. "Y… You didn't not just say that," he growled. He clenched his fists as he slowly started to walk towards the Charmander. The rest of the Pokémon in the room looked excitedly at what would happen; they knew that the champion didn't like being made fun of.

Flash realized her mistake and gulped, eyeing the door. Between her and the door was Xavier, who was slowly approaching her. She started walking along the wall in order to get around him, but there'd be no way she'd manage to get away.

Loopy ran in front of her and stood protectively before her. "Me try stop Hitmonchan," he said lowly to her, staring the approaching Xavier down. Flash nodded and made a break for the door. Loopy followed, making sure he was in front of her. Xavier rushed towards the two and avoided a punch from Loopy, quickly countering with a punch of his own across Loopy's face. The attack floored him instantly.

"Loopy!" Flash cried before Xavier grabbed her by her shoulders, pressing her back against the wall.

The larger fighting type snarled at her, teeth gritting. "Never… _ever_… make fun of what I wear… _GOT IT?"_

Flash nodded, showing no signs of struggling due to the fear of the bigger Pokémon. She managed to catch a glimpse on Loopy who struggled to get to his feet, but when he tried to approach the Hitmonchan form behind, Aska the Blaziken grabbed his arms to hold him back.

"Don't. He'll knock your guts out, kid," she advised the young fighting type.

Flash looked back into Xavier's furious glare. The Hitmonchan reaffirmed his grip by grabbing her neck with one of his golden boxing gloves, holding his free hand back to ready a hard punch.

"Enough!" boomed the powerful voice of Spathi. "No fighting outside the ring, Xavier!"

The Hitmonchan shot the Makuhita a quick look. "She's challenging me to a fight, Makuhita," he told the manager before looking back into Flash's frightened eyes. "Tell him you are, girl, or I'll make the rest of your life hell," he threatened.

Flash was about to reply when someone put his blue hand onto Xavier's shoulder pad. "He said enough, Dojo Champion," a calm voice lowly told the Hitmonchan. Flash almost grumbled when she recognized her saviour. Lucifer.

Before Xavier knew it, the Golduck firmly grabbed his free arm and twisted it behind his back. "Alright, alright!" the Hitmonchan said in defeat, letting Flash go. Aska let Loopy go as well, seeing that he wouldn't try to attack Xavier anymore.

Loopy ran up to Flash and stood before her in the same protective fashion as before.

Xavier grunted as he was shoved aside by Lucifer who let go of his arm afterwards. "Fine, have fun with your weak little boyfriend then, you-"

"Just go, Dojo Champion," muttered the Golduck before he turned towards the duo. "I'll see you two later," he said lowly, as if he was upset at them. He then walked towards the door where the rings were, stopping to cast a grin towards Xavier.

Flash looked at Loopy. "Let's get outta here before more trouble stirs up," she growled as she grabbed Loopy's arm, storming out of the dojo.

Flash slammed the door shut as soon as she and Loopy had exited the dojo. Loopy put a hand on her shoulder to cheer her up, but she seemed a little bit angry.

"Why Flash angry?" he asked.

"That stupid Hitmonchan… I should've burned his gloves and girly skirt and…" she grumbled, clenching her teeth.

Loopy grabbed her other shoulder and pulled her into a hug, snickering. "Flash happy must!" he chirped. Flash struggled to get off, but the Machop was insistent on keeping the hug.

They both heard the entrance door to the dojo open and close. They both looked to see Spathi standing there with a cheerful smile. "Excuse me, Miss," he called, running up to them. "You were talking about signing your friend into the tournament earlier, weren't you?"

Flash nodded, turning to look at Loopy. "Yeah, about that… Is there some kind of entry fee?" she asked him.

Spathi put his hands on his hips. "Yes, prizes don't spawn form the air," he joked, "It's one thousand and five hundred Poké."

Flash and Loopy's shoulders slumped down in disappointment. "Aw… bummer… I don't have that much," she muttered, looking at Loopy. "How are we going to get that much in two days?"

"One," Spathi corrected, "tomorrow's the last day to sign up, and there aren't many places left. So, if you want to join, kid," he explained, looking at Loopy with a hopeful smile, "you might want to hurry up getting enough money."

Loopy nodded, holding up his left fist. "Me try!"

Spathi grinned and patted the Machop's head. "You got a lot of determination, that's nice to see. But I've better be off now before something happens inside the dojo. You don't know the things that happen there when I'm not watching!" he said cheerfully before he ran inside.

Flash sighed, and grabbed Loopy's arm. "Come on, let's get back to the house. Francis is probably wondering where I am, and I better get back before he reports me missing."

And with that, the twosome walked back through the town and headed towards Flash's shack.


	24. Reunions plus Shenanigans

_**Chapter XXIV: Reunions plus Shenanigans**_

When the Charmander and Machop reached their shack of a base, Flash took the initiative and checked the mailbox one more time to see if any new job offers had been posted. Much to her disappointment, there weren't any new mails at all. She looked at the wooden pole inside and saw the marks on it. Those were the marks of the poor delivery Pelipper's beak. She close the box and looked over at Loopy, who stood there with his arms crossed, lost in his thoughts.

Flash wondered what he was pondering about, but through those depressed eyes of his she guessed that he thought back of when Don had chased him away. She quietly walked up to him and put her paw on his shoulder, scaring him a little. "Something on your mind, Loopy?" she kindly asked.

Loopy shrugged, looking up at the sky. "Me... me no know why me know me is me and me no know name..." he said on one sentence, only to get a confused look form Flash when he looked her in her eyes. "And me no know why me can no talk right... try hard..."

Flash could almost feel a headache forming in her head as she tried to comprehend what Loopy had said. "Loopy, try saying "I" instead of "me" all the time, okay?" she grumbled. She earned a goofy nod from the Machop and sighed. "I wonder where Francis is... was he present when Don threw you out?" she then proceeded to ask him.

Loopy frowned at the mention of Don, and crossed his arms again, this time looking slightly away from Flash. "Francis be here in morning, but he be sleep. I no know he still here be," he replied, gritting his teeth slightly as he couldn't think of anything but Don.

The Charmander's shoulders slumped slightly with her sigh and then headed inside the shack to see Francis inside, busy writing a letter using his paws and a small feather.

The Rattata noticed someone coming in and turned his head to see Flash. "Ah, Miss Flash!" he greeted, leaping down from the stone table and bowing slightly in front of Flash. "Where have you been all this day? It is already in the middle of the afternoon, and we have yet to have acquired any new job offers despite me having offered to help out various individuals in this town."

"I've been... busy," she said quietly as Loopy entered the shack, greeting Francis with a wave.

"Busy..." muttered Francis lowly, "I do hope this "busy" does not involve having been on a rescue job without me, Francis of Bluntentooth IV Junior?" he inquired, tugging his whisker like a moustache slowly. His tail had stiffened slightly to signify his upset demeanour.

Flash waved the Rattata off. "No, no, no. Loopy and I was just at the Makhuta Dojo."

"Makuhita!" Loopy corrected again. Flash sighed, as did Francis.

"Anyway," Flash continued, "I got to know who stole our mail yesterday and today." Seeing the anticipating look from the Rattata, she decided to say it right away. "Some guys called Team Meanies," she said with a slight snicker.

Francis put his paw in his lower jaw, rubbing thoughtfully. "Hmm, well, there is not much for me to comment on such a name, Miss Flash. I do have to admit that it is clearly not the most original name. Nevertheless, why did you not do a thing when you caught them claiming _our_ rescue offers?"

Flash looked away slightly, and realized she didn't have any bruises left thanks to Don's soup. "They... beat me up... hard," she muttered, "but I'm all fixed up now."

"Me help Flash protect next see meanies!" Loopy proudly burst out as he thumped his chest with his fist. He grinned slightly afterwards and eyed a boulder that was roughly his size. He felt the need to train more despite already having been training at the Dojo. He walked towards the boulder and picked it up with both his hands. He smiled happily when he held the boulder over his head and started to heave it up and down repeatedly.

Flash sighed with a smile on her lips as she watched Loopy. However, she noticed Francis looking at her. "You should train too, Miss Flash," he advised. She just crossed her arms, scoffing.

"Mind if I interrupt, kids?" The three team members turned to look at the one who had spoken and saw that it was Lucifer. Fortunately for Francis, none of the remaining team members from Team Cutthroat were present, so there wouldn't be any squabble between him and Narcis. But the Rattata was still quite offended by being called a kid.

"Mister Lucifer, I would kindly appreciate not being referred as a kid," he said with a slight distinction in his voice.

The Golduck shot the Rattata a look, narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked down at Francis. "Apologies then, Francis of Bluntentooth IV Junior," he excused, "but there is one thing I really want to make clear for you," he continued. His voice was sharp and stern, and he crossed his arms as he looked down on the smaller Pokémon in front of him.

Flash felt a slight tingle of uneasiness inside her as she decided to speak up. "Wh-what's that?"

Lucifer didn't answer right away, but his scowl sharpened as he kept his gaze at her. "Do you recall the mission the other day? It actually turned out, that my team, _surprisingly,_ was hired as a "backup team", can you believe that? Us, the great Team Cutthroat – the team that has never failed once – hired as a backup team!" he growled. Before either Flash or Francis could answer, the Golduck continued.

"Do you have ANY idea of what would've happened if you had failed the simple rescue? It would've ruined our perfect record! If that had happened, you wouldn't have lived to see this day!" He uncrossed his arms and clenched his fists hard enough that Flash could hear the cracking in Lucifer's knuckles. "The moment we reach gold rank, we'll finally surpass those famous Team ACT. Even they have failed some missions, I'll have you know. I _really_ hope that you and your puny rescue team stays away from my fine team, Charmander, or you're going to end up for the worst!" he finished, looking at all of the members of Team Brawl with fury in his eyes.

Loopy put down the rock and looked at Lucifer with wondrous curiosity in his eyes. "Why ducky angry? Duggytrio want us to rescue!" he stated, scratching the back of his head innocently.

Lucifer instantly looked at the Machop and kept a deadly glare that could've killed Loopy at an instant if looks could kill. It took a lot of willpower out of Lucifer not to run up to Loopy and wring his neck at the spot. "They... got a piece of my mind. A very... serious... piece," he growled lowly. "Machop, throw me that boulder," he then ordered Loopy.

The Machop looked oddly at Lucifer, but decided to do what he was told. He picked up the boulder and chucked it towards the Golduck.

Lucifer caught the boulder flawlessly with one of his webbed hands. He held the boulder high up with his hand and balled his other clawed hand into a fist. "Just to state an example of what might happen if you EVER cross my path to perfection!" he spat as he punched the boulder, shattering it into four pieces. As the bits of the rocks hit the ground, Lucifer seemed to relax slightly, having taken out some of his anger on that boulder. "With that, I take my leave," he said lowly before he spun around and left the three speechless.

All three of them were silent. None of them had seen such behaviour from someone from a highly respected rescue team. Flash was jittering uncontrollably of the fear Lucifer had induced her, and Francis was biting his lip thoughtfully. Loopy had just been awed by Lucifer's sheer physical strength. Lucifer's chastisement had taken a grave effect on the three Pokémon.

"What the hell is his problem?" Flash said, breaking the silence all of a sudden. She still couldn't stop her jittering. Loopy walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder to try help her stop the uncontrollable jittering. By pure reflex, she yelped and hopped away from Loopy. She tried coming to her senses, and then walked back to him and patted his shoulder.

"Thank," he said lowly, patting her head in return.

Francis took a few steps forward and stood in front of the two younger Pokémon. "My, I would say that it does not surprise me the slightest that the likes of Narcis von Sharpenslash II would be affiliated with that Lucifer," he scoffed, tugging his whisker.

"Lussfer very strong," stated Loopy, looking at his arms. "Need much train to be stronger! Me no scared!" he burst out with determination. A few seconds later he put his hand on his belly and showed one of his goofy smiles. "But first eat!"

Despite having been chastised and threatened by Lucifer, Flash couldn't help but smile at Loopy's statement. Even though it was hard to interpret some of his actions, they all made her happy. His cheery attitude and sometimes being clueless about things really summarized his name. Thinking of his name, she wondered what his real name was. He had said something about it starting with L, but that was all.

Francis cast Loopy an annoyed look. "Is food all you ever think about, besides training?" he snapped, "If we cannot manage to find any job offers at all, we could be without food one day!"

"In case that'd ever happen," Flash shot in, "there's always a smart-mouthed Rattata we could cook." She sent Francis a mischievous grin as she tauntingly licked her lips.

Francis, however, did not appreciate the joke. "M-Miss Flash!" he blurted, taking a step away from her, "What in the name of the legendary birds are you suggesting? Have you no shame at all?"

"Relax, I was just kidding, Francis."

"We eat or no?" Loopy asked, rubbing his belly with anticipation. Flash looked at him and went inside her house, looking for the Toolbox to pick out three apples. She was getting slightly tired of apples, but they still were pretty fresh so it'd be a waste not to eat them anyway. She tossed one apple to Loopy, who gobbled it up really quickly. The fighting type then patted his belly and burped.

Flash tried not to be affected by Loopy's actions, and offered Francis the second apple. "No, thank you, a certain _someone_ has caused my appetite to drop to the zero," he said, looking away from Loopy in disgust. Flash sighed and tossed Loopy the other apple, and started nibbling a little on her own. Loopy gobbled the other apple up just as fast as the first one.

"Flash eat slow!" he said happily to he as she sat down calmly eating her apple.

"That way I won't get any stomach aches." She looked over at Francis. "You sure you don't want to eat?" The Rattata shook his head, saying nothing.

Loopy approached Francis carefully with a concerned look. "Why Franny-sis angry now? Want be like ducky?" he childishly asked.

"I am not angry, I am upset," he snapped back, not turning to face Loopy.

"What be set up?"

Francis grumbled and then snapped around to look at Loopy straight in his eyes. "What I am saying, is that your overly disgusting manners when you eat is what causes me to be like this. For the love of Mew, can you please act normally for once?"

The Machop looked down slightly. "I try..."

"Congratulations, you formed a coherent sentence," Francis commended sarcastically.

"Hmm..." hummed Loopy thoughtfully, putting his hands on his hips. He appeared to be thinking rather hard.

Flash looked at the two while she was halfway finished with her apple, and could easily make out what Loopy was thinking. _"This doesn't bode well,"_ she thought.

Loopy scratched his head with his finger. "Congrtali? Cohrent? Senetens? Franny-sis use much long word!" he said, looking down at the normal type. He saw the furious glare from Francis and smiled. "Franny-sis maybe angry when no eat," he then concluded and ran towards the Toolbox, picking up and apple. He then walked up to Francis and grabbed him by the scruff and shoved the apple inside his mouth.

Flash laughed loudly as Francis cried with muffled screams due to the apple being stuck in his mouth. She laughed even more when the Rattata managed to bite through it and spit it out.

Francis glared murderously into Loopy's eyes, but the bigger Pokémon just smiled back happily. Francis then sent his murderous glare towards the laughing Flash, which had an effect on her.

However, another laugh caught the three's attention. "You haven't changed a bit, have ya?" It was the Caterpie Flash and Loopy had rescued in their first mission. The small bug type laughed happily at what Loopy had done to Francis.

"Catapi!" Loopy cried cheerfully.

Flash looked kindly at the Caterpie. "How're you doing, everything fine and all?" she inquired.

Caterpie nodded quickly with a smile. "Yeah, it's all fine at Tiny Woods, and Orly keeps a good watch over me while Mommy is off searching for food during the day. But he recently evolved into a Cascoon, and being in a cocoon form, he isn't very good at looking over me. Still, he's fun to play with when he's got time!" he told them happily. But after he finished the last sentence, he immediately grew worried.

"What wrong?" Loopy asked, walking up to the bug type.

Caterpie sniffled, looking away with guilt. "M'friend Metapod and I were playing near the other woods in the east, don't kn-know what they're called..."

"Sinister Woods," Francis put in for Caterpie, who nodded. "Is that not quite dangerous to be near that forest for such a young one as you?"

The small worm Pokémon fidgeted a little, as if having been caught with his hands in the cookie jar. "Well, Metapod suggested that we could play there since Tiny Woods was getting boring, but Mommy told me not to go there, and his Mommy said the same. But we were curious and snuck to the place anyway. We made sure not to go too far inside, and it was really exciting!"

"Ah, to be young again, so full of curiousness and daring," Francis muttered, casting a glance at Loopy.

"Anyway," continued Caterpie, "we were a little too loud and accidentally woke up a Hoothoot. It got mad at us and attacked us, snatching Metapod." He sniffled some more. "I tried to stop it, but there wasn't anything I could do but to shoot some of my String Shot to stop it, but all it did was to cause it to stagger in the sky. I saw it drop Metapod deep inside the forest, but it lost interest of him, and went back into a tree branch to sleep. But I'm worried about Metapod, there are many dangerous Pokémon inside Sinister Woods, but he's a great hider, so he could last pretty long."

Flash had listened very carefully to the words, but then scratched her lower jaw in wonder. "But if he's a great hider, how will we find him? I've heard Sinister Woods is not only big, but it tends to get very dark inside it."

"Please..." pleaded Caterpie, "our Mommies doesn't know yet, and Metapod's Mommy is even more nervous about him getting hurt than my Mommy."

"How much?" asked Francis, wanting to know what the reward would be. Caterpie slumped down a little, not wanting to get to that part.

However, a familiar cackle stopped Caterpie from answering the question. Flash recognized the cackle and saw the Gengar Wolfgang along with his companions Cletus and Griselda. The ghost Pokémon rubbed his hands, smiling mischievously at Flash especially. "Kekekeh, you need someone to find your little friend? Let us, a real rescue team, accomplish that task for you!" he announced grinning.

Flash clenched her paws as she glared at the three who had stolen her mail and beaten her up earlier this day. She wheeled around to face Loopy and pointed at them furiously. "Loopy! Those are the _idiots _whoknocked me out!" she growled loudly.

Loopy frowned slightly and looked at the troublesome trio. "Why hurt Flash?" he growled as he punched his fist into his palm. Before he could do anything else, Francis had run in front of him and gestured him not to attack.

"Do not do it, Loopy, ghost types are immune towards your attacks. There is no way for you to even lay a scratch on him," he warned. Loopy kept frowning at Wolfgang and snorted.

"Keh," Wolfgang snorted back, "your little boyfriend won't stand a chance against me! Now, back to business," he then said, facing Caterpie with a sly smile on his ghostly face. "What do you say? We get your friend back for a reasonable sum."

Caterpie fidgeted again, cowering slightly before the Gengar. "I... I'd rather... I'd rather have them d-doing it for me," he whimpered.

Wolfgang raised his eyebrows and then scowled at Caterpie as he loomed over him. "What?"

"I... don't have any money..."

Wolfgang's frown remained for a few seconds, but then turned into a wide smile. "That's not a matter! After we rescue your friend, we'll discuss with your mama about the expenses later, kekeh," he suggested. Before Caterpie could answer, the Gengar exclaimed, "It is decided then! Let's go, Team Meanies!" With that, they took off.

Caterpie became jittery and nervous as he looked at the team leave, but there was nothing he could say. He turned back to Flash with pleading eyes. "Please..."

Flash thought about it, the job wouldn't net any money, which she desperately needed, but it wasn't like she'd get another job offer for today, and at least Kangaskhan wouldn't nag at her for doing nothing. "Alright, let's do this! I wanna show that fat Gengar we're better, right guys?" she agreed, punching the air in the same fashion as Loopy.

"With two fire users, it is indeed a great advantage over the other team," Francis stated, "your friend will be in safe hands, Caterpie."

"Adventure! Fun!" Loopy exclaimed with his hands high up, hopping around excitedly.

Flash crossed her arms and nodded approvingly at the two. "Great, let's pack the Toolbox and set out! Let's show those idiots that no one steals our mail and gets away with it." And so, Flash and Francis went to look up the necessary items suitable for Sinister Woods and pack them into the Toolbox. But due to them having to race another team, most of the packing was rushed.

Minutes later they were off.


	25. Exciting Forest be!

A/N: And now we are back at square one to who's announcing the chapters!

_**Chapter XXV: Exciting Forest be!**_

At the edge of the forest known as Sinister Woods stood the three members of Team Brawl, looking into the dark woods. It was no wonder why these woods were called "Sinister Woods". They had left Caterpie at their base so he could rest there and be safe.

"This forest looks worse than Tiny Woods," Flash stated, staring into the entrance of the dark woods. "It's a lot bigger too…"

"I would seize the chance to advise that we shall try not to get separated. Being lost in a forest like this would certainly not be a pleasant experience," Francis explained, studying the entrance. A path could be seen inside, but Francis suspected that the path would lead them nowhere through the supposedly treacherous forests.

Loopy also looked ahead of him, staring slightly more up at the trees with a half opened mouth of awe. "Much trees," he said quietly, but the Rattata caught his words.

"It is called a forest, in case you did not know."

"Me know!" Loopy shot back, "and me no wear pinky thingy want!" he argued, pointing at the pink scarf he had tied around the top of his head like a headband.

Francis sighed and looked calmly at the Machop. "I had to pull a few strings with my kin to acquire one of those Pecha Scarves. You should cherish it, Loopy, it does prevent you from being poisoned when wearing it. You do remember last time that happened?"

Loopy clenched his fists and growled. "Mean Tyke…"

"Francis has a point. You're wearing that whether you want it or not," she told him, frowning slightly at him.

The Machop fiddled a little with the scarf and shrugged. "Ja, ja…" he muttered quietly. "But wood no hard look, why no path follow?" he then asked, scratching his head where the scarf itched.

"Do not take anything for granted," advised Francis, "you have not been in these woods yet, and neither have Miss Flash and I." He tugged his whisker once, sporting a faint smug grin. "However, I do possess vital knowledge of any Pokémon I see, so please keep your ears open for any pieces of wisdom that will come from me."

Flash sighed, and decided to enter the forest in advance. The other two quickly followed so they wouldn't be separated in the dark woods.

* * *

At first the forest seemed rather nice, with some sunlight shining through the foliage. It had the pleasant fell of peaceful silence in it and Flash could even spot some Sunflora relaxing in the various sun spots. She was certain (after Francis had warned her) that the lounging grass types probably wanted to be left alone, and took a small detour along with her team mates in order not to bother them. They looked like they were having a good time in the sun spots anyway.

They were following the path, despite what Francis had told them it hadn't been recommended, and the forest wasn't thick yet. Loopy did a quick check and made sure the Toolbox was firmly strapped over his shoulder as he walked behind the two leading Pokémon. "How we find Mepod?" he asked.

Both Francis and Flash looked over their shoulders. "Caterpie told us that we had to shout a certain codeword and he'd come forth from his hiding place, you forgot already?" Flash reminded him. "How else would we find him? He's perfectly camouflaged in a place like this!"

"But keep in mind, that he cannot be hiding near where we are located. We need to venture further inside these woods in order to find him. If I remember correctly to his words, it would be the eastern most section of this forest where the Hoothoot dropped him," Francis went on, keeping the track of the path. "Furthermore, there is no knowing when this path will suddenly vanish."

"Alright, alright!" Flash agreed with frustration in her voice. She stepped towards where the woods where darker and thicker, and hesitated. "It's just that... I've never been here before... and I'd hate to get lost. And the deep eastern part is known to be dangerous," she whimpered a little.

Francis shot her a stern look into her eyes. "Miss Flash, have a look at the situation. You are a fire type for Mew's sake! About every being inside this forest have a fear against you, and me as well thanks to my amazing fire inheritance!"

Flash rolled her eyes at the Rattata's boasting and shrugged. He did have a point, and the forest was full of Pokémon that was weak to fire. She made her decision and stepped off the path and towards the darker parts of Sinister Woods.

"Stay close," she reminded as Francis and Loopy followed.

* * *

The woods had quickly turned much darker, quicker than Flash had expected. She was happy for her flame on the tip of her tail, which illuminated the place, but it also had its disadvantages such as being easier to spot by wild Pokémon who wouldn't take kindly to intruders. She also had to make sure not to start a forest fire as well, as even the ones living in Town Square wouldn't like if one of the biggest forests happened to burn down to crisps.

But when thought about it, there was the same damp feeling in the air that she had felt when she had been in the caves she had been to before. But thanks to that, the risks of starting a forest fire wouldn't be that big, not since it had been raining the other day.

She stayed alert in case there'd be any hostile Pokémon in the vicinity. She had to hand it to Francis, since he had probably been right of that the wild Pokémon were scared of her tailflame. She was also relieved that Loopy had taken the initiative of carrying the Toolbox this time. If he had taken on the task to be nice to her, or just to slip out an apple when no one was watching, she didn't know.

The Charmander looked up at the trees, feeling slightly intimidated by their looming and dominant appearance when they blocked almost all of the sunlight. With no other Pokémon in the vicinity she started to feel a little insecure. What if something was stalking them? She could swear she just heard something pass by them just to the west.

"Nervous, Miss Flash?" Francis inquired, "I admit I also have the slight feeling of insecurity while exploring through these seemingly treacherous woods." The Rattata quickly checked his surroundings as well, as if he had seen something.

"Don't you get that feeling too?" Flash asked him back, "someone's watching us!" she concluded, stopping dead in her tracks and looked worriedly around her. If someone was really stalking them, it could've been something that wasn't weak towards fire. She was about to edge closer to Loopy, but then she realized something horrible.

Loopy wasn't with them anymore!

"Loopy!" she yelled, but she got no response. She turned back to Francis with anxiety in her eyes. "Where did he go? Why didn't we notice he was gone? Why-"

"Miss Flash," Francis interrupted, frowning at her, "panicking is not bringing him back!"

The rustling was louder in a bush dangerously near the two. They both inched nervously towards each other, wondering what dangerous Pokémon would lurk in the bushes. Another set of bushes behind the two rustled right after, causing the two to jump with fright.

"L-Loopy! If you're in there, get out NOW!" she demanded, trying to pull herself together.

There was no response, followed by an eerie silence. Flash's angry demeanour slowly diminished into anxiety again, and Francis wasn't sure of what to do. Flash knew that even though Loopy was playful at times, not even he would pull a prank like this.

"Maybe it could be one of those Team Meanies simpletons?" the Rattata helpfully suggested.

A shadow quickly ran through the woods from afar. Flash could barely distinguish it as something big moving swiftly through the woods, but it disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. Another eerie silence commenced, only Flash and Francis's nervous breathing was heard.

A sudden rustle in the bush scared the living daylights out of the two, causing them to jump in fright. This was too much for Flash, and she panicked and ran blindly away from the bush.

"Miss Flash! You might get lost!" Francis yelled back as he darted after her, not wanting to be left alone in this forest. He caught up with her and ran alongside her as they both ran through the forest in panic.

Back at where they had been before, the bushes rustled some more. A small, blue seed like Pokémon waddled out from the bushes. The Oddish looked strangely at the two fleeing rescue team members as they fled deeper into the forest.

"What an odd bunch..." it muttered before it waddled towards another bush where its friend was.

* * *

After having running through the dark forest for a while, Flash and Francis stopped to catch their breath in a small clearing. The clearing was almost as dark as the rest of the forest, a lot of branches looming threateningly over them, blocking the sun. The Charmander sat down on the mossy ground, breathing heavily.

She looked up and was somewhat relieved that Francis had managed to keep up with her so she wasn't alone. But she was worried about Loopy.

"My... even though we had to endure this little mishap, I still do have a vague idea of where we are located," he said, trying to cheer her up. She just sighed

"How did he get separated from us...?" she muttered quietly, "I'm worried of him." She lay down on her back and tried to look up at the sky through all of the foliage. She felt her stomach rumble and put a paw on it. She was hungry.

"Another problem has arisen," Francis then noted, "Loopy was the one taking on the task of carrying the Toolbox."

"Oh no..." Flash groaned in realization, "and there isn't any edible food near here?"

Francis shook his head. "Afraid not, Miss Flash, I will make an attempt to find anything, but do not get your hopes up," he replied calmly as he walked off to scavenge for edible food. He made sure so he wouldn't stroll too far and stayed within the small clearing.

"Loopy..." Flash said quietly to herself, "I hope you're okay..."

* * *

At another part of the forest, Loopy stood right in front of a rather small, yet sturdy tree. The odd tree seemed just a little bit taller than him, and had a pair of weird branches with three green balls on each one. Loopy was smiling at the tree as he mimicked its dancing movements, wiggling his arms in synchronisation with the tree.

The Sudowoodo smiled widely back at the fighting type, flailing his arms in a steady rhythm as the Machop followed his movements almost perfectly. The rock type had waited for a playmate in this lonely forest and was exhilarated with his new playmate. He clapped his branchlike hands together, and Loopy followed exactly, clapping his hands as well.

The funny dance went on, and the Sudowoodo let Loopy take the lead. The Machop then started a dance that involved doing some weird kind of slap dance. He clapped his hands twice first, then both of his thighs twice. The Sudowoodo laughed and followed happily what the Machop was doing. Loopy then moved p his hands and slapped his butt twice with a childish smile, proceeding by lifting his fists to chest level and held his elbows out, flapping them like a chicken. He repeated the dance from the beginning a few more times.

Loopy had first spotted the Sudowoodo amongst the trees as he had been walking with Flash and Francis, but he had quickly distinguished it as an odd tree at the second he saw it. Without having told either Flash or Francis, he had approached the imitating Pokémon and examined it curiously. The imitating Pokémon had first taken precautions against the type he was weak against and had started flailing with his branch like arms. Loopy had just smiled and acted friendly towards the tree like Pokémon.

But now, Loopy was very fatigued after the constant dancing with the mimicking Pokémon. He sat down and wiped some sweat from his forehead. This whole dance had been just not fun, but also good for training his stamina.

"Tree be funny!" he exclaimed happily as he breathed heavily. The Sudowoodo smiled at him.

"A tree I am not. I am but a wonderful mimic without being aware of it sometimes," he responded, petting Loopy on his head with his green bally tips of his branch.

Loopy looked at Sudowoodo with confusion all over his eyes. "Tree talk odd, but dance fun! What Flash think?" he asked, looking over his shoulder to look at his Charmander friend. But she wasn't there.

"Who's this Flash?" Sudowoodo asked. "Did you have friends with you before you met me?" the rock type asked. Loopy nodded quickly, wiping some more sweat from his forehead. "They might've not noticed when you left."

Loopy's eyes widened when he noticed that he was all alone in the dark forest with his newfound friend. "This no good," he muttered as he scratched his head. "Forest big and dark."

Sudowoodo pulled up both of his short legs from the ground and grabbed Loopy by his shoulders. "Don't worry, friend, I know this forest quite well," he assured the fighting type. "But it's dangerous as well; you don't want to get too close to the Scyther territory," the rock type then warned with a concerned look on his face.

The Machop sprang to his feet and thumped his chest proudly with a determined look on his face. "Me no scared!"

Sudowoodo laughed shortly. "I like your style! I could help ya with finding your friends, but there's something I need in return, if possible."

"More dance?"

"No," replied the Sudowoodo firmly, quickly turning solemn. "I stand before a great problem... My friends, they're..." He paused, looking slightly away from the Machop. "I know I shouldn't take advantage over your current situation, but you're the right kind of Pokémon who could help me out with this problem I've got," he then continued.

Loopy opened his mouth slightly. "Uhm..." he uttered, "tree talk long... say again?"

Sudowoodo rolled his small eyes and simplified what he said before to the Machop.

"Me try!" Loopy burst out as he clenched his fist with a smile. He then held out the same hand in a friendly gesture, offering a handshake.

Sudowoodo smiled and held out his branchlike arm, shaking hands with Loopy. "Thanks, the name's Pseudo. Yours?"

"Loopy!"

Pseudo let go of Loopy's hand and put his hands on his trunk like hips. "Well, since you're a nice guy and all, could we start with my problem first? We might find your friends on the way," he then requested. Loopy just shrugged and then nodded in agreement. Pseudo's mouth curled into a smile as he walked off, leading Loopy the way to where his troubled friends were.

"Just remember, Loopy, it's useless to shout and yell for others. This forest absorbs most noises, yet it attracts predators. So it's better to find your friends rather than calling for them," Pseudo advised. Loopy nodded.

* * *

"Francis, this sucks!" Flash cried as she was sitting down against a tree. She was nibbling on a half on an Oran berry Francis had found during his scavenge for edible food. The Rattata was nibbling on his own half of the Oran berry. "Loopy won't find us here! And this mere berry won't do much to my hunger!" she ranted on.

Francis snorted. "It is better than nothing, Miss Flash," he muttered back to her, finishing his share of the only food he could find. He picked up a sole leaf from the ground and used it as a napkin with distinction. He quickly snapped his head to one direction, as if he had spotted something.

Flash reacted to this as well, and looked at the same direction. "You saw something?" she blurted.

Francis kept his eyes peeled at what he was looking at, but then looked at Flash. "Nothing, I would guess. My eyes may have played a trick with me. But I am certain that there are more trees over there than it was before. Peculiar indeed," he mused, rubbing his lower jaw.

"Really, huh?" Flash remarked. She got up and approached the odd looking trees. They seemed rather short to her, but there was something weird about them. She shrugged and turned around to face Francis. "I guess... But how will we ever find Loopy?" she then asked.

"Think positive, Miss Flash," Francis advised, "he will probably walk around and try to find us, and the best thing would be to stay at the spot so he can find us."

Flash forced a smile, and scratched the back of her neck. "I suppose so," she agreed."At least I have the rescue team badge to take us back if things would get dire."

_Things will get dire for you, little Charmander,_ a telepathic voice said inside Flash's head. She did a double take and thought she just had heard something.

"Wha...?" she just replied, backing up against the closest tree nervously.

"Something in the matter?" asked the Rattata.

_We never thought we'd ever see you again,_ the voice continued in Flash's head. _We thought our number with that Machop had been enough for him to kill you... but unfortunately, he didn't._

"Wait, what?" Flash blurted, confused by the voice in her head. She had a feeling she had heard the voice earlier, but she couldn't put her paw on it.

A pair of tree branches quickly embraced themselves around Flash's chest from behind, keeping her in a tight hug. She yelped and tried to break free, but the branches just squeezed even tighter in response.

"Miss Flash!" Francis cried as he bolted towards her to help her out from the living tree's grasp. But he only ended up being caught by another treelike Pokémon. "Oh dear..."

"Don't worry," Flash wheezed as she calmed down slightly so the tree would lighten its hold on her, "Those are trees, so a burn will teach them a lesson," she then said, spitting out a small fireball at the tree holding Francis. The fireball just bounced off, doing almost no damage at all to the tree. The Rattata just sighed.

_Ha ha ha,_ the voice laughed, _my servants are resistant to your fire attacks. Speaking of which, it is after all thanks to us that you are able to use them, isn't it?_ The voice then continued smugly.

Flash struggled more against the grip of the Sudowoodo who held her in place, but only caused the rock type to squeeze harder. _"Servants? Fire attacks? No... No, it can't be!" _she realized who her enemy was. She heard another chuckle from the voice in her head, followed up by a rustle not far from her location.

Out came a distinguishingly odd, plant like Pokémon. It wasn't a good mimic as the Sudowoodo, its three yellowish heads confirmed that, and it didn't have arms as well on its light brownish body. Leaf green hair grew on top of it. It waddled towards Flash, all three heads grinned mischievously at her, having unhealthy intentions towards the fire type.

The Exeggutor finished its approached towards Flash and stood in front of her, all three heads eyeing her. "It has been a while, hasn't it?" it asked. "You remember us, don't you? We've longed for this very day to exact my revenge on you."

"Y...you... you're that Exeggcute from Tiny Woods!" Flash cried, only to get squeezed harder by the possessed Sudowoodo.

"Excellent deduction, little Charmander," commended Exeggutor, chuckling afterwards. "But enough talk now, these Sudowoodo are always more than happy to obey our commands, and since we don't have a pair of arms like you..." Exeggutor three faces grinned. "We'd sure give an arm or two for being able to have that."

Francis harrumphed. "Witty, dear Exeggutor, how many days did it take you to come up with that one? The equivalent of a Shuckle's both normal and special defence ratings?" he quipped. The larger dual type looked at him, and waddled over to him.

"We think you are funny, little Rattata, maybe we should make your demise funny in return," it replied smugly. "But first..." The coconut Pokémon turned to face Flash with anticipation. "knock her out first, my loyal servant!"

The Sudowoodo holding Flash moved its branches up to her neck and squeezed hard, strangling her. Flash desperately tried to spit another fireball at it, but it didn't do anything. She struggled to push the green, bally tips of the branches off her neck, but the Sudowoodo was too strong. She couldn't scream or utter anything at all.

Exeggutor neared the suffocating Charmander, all three yellow faces grinning with malicious glee. "Now that's a good beginning. We think this'll be fun!" It looked at the Sudowoodo that strangled Flash, eyes glowing a slight tint of red. The imitating Pokémon dropped Flash and let her fall to the ground. The dual type then took a few more steps and loomed over her, grinning at her as she gasped desperately for air.

"You fiend!" Francis cried as the Sudowoodo employed a strangling hold on the Rattata, silencing him immediately.

"We reconsidered our little game, and decided to knock you out permanently ourselves!" Exeggutor said, lifting one of its massive feet to execute a Stomp attack hard enough to crush Flash's face. "Goodbye, you little runt!"

Flash breathing stopped in panic, and she closed her eyes to await the incoming blow. She hated that she'd have to die alone without Loopy. She could slightly hear Francis wheezing gasps for air as the Sudowoodo tried strangling him to death.

But the blow never came. Instead, Flash heard a cry from one of Exeggutor's heads. She looked between the tiny claws of her paws to see that Exeggutor was reeling away from her, and one of its heads was bleeding. Her breathing came back to her as she breathed rapidly, looking at the Sudowoodo who seemed confused by the current situation.

"Show yourself!" the dual type commanded. There was no response, instead there was a swishing sound and Exeggutor reeled again, now bleeding from his second head. "AAAAAaaaaaaaahhh!" it cried in pain and frustration, trying to spot the attacker.

The attacker chose not to answer, and watched from its hiding place how the Exeggutor vainly tried to spot him.

Flash tried to crawl away from the Sudowoodo, and felt a rush of accomplishment as the imitating Pokémon didn't notice her escape. The one holding Francis had lost interest of him as well, having dropped the purple rat onto the ground. Flash let out a sigh in relief when she saw that he was still breathing.

Another swishing sound. This time Flash could almost feel that the attacker had dashed just past her, and when she looked at Exeggutor, a wide gash had opened up across its trunk.

"Nuts to that stupid girl!" it cried as it almost sank down to one knee of its injuries. "Get whoever attacks us! Now! NOW!" it cried at its Sudowoodo, who quickly agreed and ran off with the Exeggutor

There was a painful silence again. Flash seized the chance and crawled over to Francis, who was regaining his consciousness. When she was close enough, she prodded him lightly to see if he was awake. He was, but he couldn't get onto his feet, so Flash rose up and carefully picked him up.

"Where are you, you sneaky piece of filth?" growled Exeggutor, having lost interest of Flash and Francis. The coconut Pokémon spotted a movement ahead of it and rushed furiously towards that location, disappearing into the woods along with its Sudowoodo cohorts.

"Even with three heads... you weren't able to spot me... pathetic," the unknown attacker spat out with contempt as he looked at the dual type who had finally spotted him. The Exeggutor who was petrified with fear of what it saw.

"No... NONONONOOOO-UYAAaaaaa..." were the last dying words of the dual type.

Hearing the death screams of the Exeggutor, Flash decided that she had to get Francis and herself away from that attacker. And fast.


	26. Mystir Mystery Forest be!

_**Chapter XXVI: Mystir… Mystery Forest be!**_

Flash and Francis were hiding in a nearby bush. Flash had dimmed down the fire on her tail to mere glowing embers so the bush wouldn't ignite and give her and Francis away. The Exeggutor that had tried to kill her and Francis had been killed itself. By whom, she didn't know, but she wasn't aware if the one who had ended Exeggutor's life was after her and Francis too. She even recalled the part when she had realized that Loopy had gone missing. Had that shadow been that mysterious murderer?

After about five minutes, although it seemed to have been an half an hour to Flash and Francis, Flash took the initiative of stepping out of the bush carefully.

"I... I think it's clear," she informed lowly to the Rattata. "I think whatever killed that Exeggutor isn't after us."

A faint rustle came from the bush as Francis's head popped out from it. "That sounds rather pleasing," he said, forcing a smile. "But I do have to wonder..."

"Well, wonder when we're back home!" snapped Flash, dragging him out from the bush all of a sudden. "We need to find Metapod and get out of here before those Team Douchebags find him. Also, we got to find Loopy!"

"Miss Flash!" cried Francis as he was dragged by the tail from his hiding place. "Such behaviour from your side is highly unacceptable!" Flash ignored his ranting and kept a tight hold onto the Rattata's tail. The Charmander smiled, even after the hardships she had been through, it was fun to tease the ever so smart Rattata.

A sudden rustle not far from the two was heard. Both of them froze on the spot, fearing that it could've been that mysterious murderer. The rustling stopped briefly, but then started again. Something was nearing them, and the air grew tenser for every second. Flash let go of Francis' tail and edged closer to him.

The rustles then stopped, not without revealing that whoever was dangerously close to the frightened duo. The silence commenced for a good twenty seconds that felt like ages to the two. They were ready for anything.

"HELLO, FLASH!" a very familiar, happy voice yelled out. Out from the bushes leapt none other than Loopy himself. He stood proudly with an announcing pose in front of his two team mates, grinning widely. However, both Flash and Francis had fainted of the sheer chock of Loopy's sudden entrance. "Maybe scare no be good," he then muttered to himself, scratching his head a little.

A Sudowoodo emerged from the bushes as well, looking quite upset. "I told you not to do that!" Pseudo chastised Loopy, "Now look what happened!" The Sudowoodo grumbled a bit more before he put his thin feet into the soil, starting to imitate a tree again.

Loopy's shoulders slumped slightly, but he took off his Toolbox and opened it, taking out two oranges. He sat down by the fainted Charmander and carefully peeled one. He then nudged her carefully to try getting her back to her conscious state. The Charmander flinched and fluttered her eyes open, quickly sitting up. Loopy smiled and slapped her back too hard, causing her to kiss the ground face first.

"Loopy!" she yelled as she got back up to her sitting position, "where the hell have you been?" She jumped to her feet and shook her small fist at him. He just smiled as he offered her the peeled orange. "Don't think you can buy yourself free with that orange!" She was about to slap him hard across his cheek, but the juicy looking orange reminded her of her nigh empty belly. She grumbled and snatched the orange from the sitting Machop and ate the orange wedge by wedge.

Loopy smiled and stood up. "Me play with dance tree," he happily explained to her, pointing at Pseudo.

Flash shot the Sudowoodo a look, assuming that this rock type was not hostile due to it being quite present. Pseudo looked back at her, smiling warmly. "It was a good thing we found you. This forest is dangerous if you are in the wrong parts of it. Thankfully, this part is rather safe, seeing it as it's my friends and mine. And don't worry about the other Sudowoodo, they're back to normal." He put his branchy hands on his hips, giving Flash an impressed look. "You sure overkilled that Exeggutor. Must've been some hard slashes you gave it."

"Actually," Flash replied while Francis was waking up from his fainted state, "I didn't beat it. Something else killed it, but I don't know what. But whatever it was, I don't want to be its next target."

Loopy walked over to the Rattata and offered him a wedge of his other peeled orange he had been peeling while Flash and Pseudo's conversation had taken place. Francis accepted the wedge and nibbled slightly on it.

"Loopy, do not think about wandering off, _ever again_," he said lowly to the Machop, who just petted his head in return. "Where is your Pecha scarf? Did you take it off and leave it?" he then questioned, staring brightly into Loopy's eyes.

Loopy shrugged. "Odd... It be away sudden... I... sorry," he replied, a hint of shame in his voice. "Just poof, it be away..."

"Pecha scarves do not just disappear into thin air unless you take them off!" Francis shot back sternly, tugging his whisker. "I just had it borrowed for this specific mission!"

Loopy stomped the ground with his foot, clenching his fists. "But I no off take scarf! Promise!" he persisted. Francis scoffed, refusing to believe the Machop.

"Uh, guys, there's a Metapod that we need to find, damnit!" Flash cried angrily at the two. Francis pointed at her with a warning paw, indicating her harsh use of language. "Whatever! Now that we're together again, it feels just a little bit safer to roam around this forest where a potential murderer is roaming about!"

Pseudo cleared his throat to get the team's attention. "Ahem, excuse me, but this murderer you're talking about, did you see him/her?" he asked her. She shook her head. Pseudo the put one of his branch like hands near his mouth, as if rubbing his chin. "Well, since that Exeggutor who got horribly maimed was quite the troublemaker it wouldn't matter much. Actually, thanks to this murderer, my friends are free from that Exeggutor's control."

"So, you're leaving then?" she asked the imitating Pokémon. Pseudo nodded. "In that case," she continued, "you have any idea where a Metapod could be? We're looking for one at the moment." Pseudo shrugged, not having seen the cocoon Pokémon. Flash sighed as the Sudowoodo ran off after waving goodbye to Loopy. The Charmander turned around to look at the smiling Loopy and approached him with a stern look on her face.

"Flash set up?" he asked warily, trying to keep his smile. "I just with Sudo dance..."

Flash's look at Loopy darkened as her eyes narrowed. "You stray off to DANCE with some Pokémon that could very well have knocked you out permanently? _Don't do that ever again!_" she hissed at him. He just kept his smile on his face. She snorted at him, causing a small, white puff of smoke come out of her nostrils. Seeing no change of Loopy's mood, she wheeled around and walked away from him. Loopy and Francis quickly followed.

Soon enough, they were at the place where Flash and Francis had encountered the Exeggutor. The Charmander stopped leading the group and looked at the greenish blood that had belonged to the Exeggutor on the ground. She stared mindlessly at the faint trail on the ground. There was the littlest of curiosity that urged her to go and check the body just to confirm that the grass/psychic was finally gone. She beckoned her team mates to follow as she followed the trail that lead into the bushes up front.

She was met with a horrible sight at the other side of the bushes. There lay the corpse of the slain Exeggutor. All of its three heads had been stabbed through, and on its body were two deep cuts forming a V. Most of the green blood had dried to the ground. It was sickening to all three of them. Flash started to feel nauseous at the same time her scales were turning into a pale orange. She quickly turned around so she wouldn't have to watch it anymore.

"The Sudowoodo wasn't kidding when he said overkill," she muttered, putting her paw over her mouth in case she'd throw up. "By the fire of Ho-oh! If whatever killed Exeggutor finds us, I... I don't know what..." She stopped, feeling shaky all over her body. Loopy walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder to offer her some comfort. She stopped shaking slightly, breathing more calmly.

"Shall we move on, Miss Flash?" requested Francis, stepping forward. She nodded and they then all walked away from the carcass.

The trio walked on through the thick and dark forest, with Flash in the front and Francis at the back. They both made sure that Loopy was in the middle so that he wouldn't stray off again. They didn't encounter any hostile Pokémon for the most part luckily, and Flash and Francis had needed that after their last encounter with that Exeggutor. They became successively more worried over time when they went deeper into the forest, and Metapod had been dropped off at the easternmost section according to Caterpie.

Flash stopped, causing the other two to stop as well. She looked around to see that it was safe to rest for a while. Sitting down, she told the others that it was safe. "Loopy, can you hand over the Toolbox to me?" she asked him. He smiled and took the strap off his shoulder, tossing it happily to Flash. She managed to catch it with both her arms, but the heavy leather bag was too much for her. She toppled backwards and fell flat on her back with the Toolbox on top of her chest.

"Toolbox be heavy?" asked Loopy as he walked up to Flash and lifted off the box from her.

Flash snorted and got up, dusting herself off in the process. "What did you do with it? Fill it with over nine thousand rocks?" she snapped at him as she snatched the Toolbox weighted a lot more than it had during the start of the day. She opened it and saw that it contained more apples and a lot of pink and green berries. "That's a lot of berries," she stated, looking at the various Pecha and Rawst berries.

Loopy thumped his chest proudly. "Sudo tell berries good! Both pinky and greeny!" he exclaimed. "Pick some while search Flash!"

"At least this whole ordeal with you being away was not that bad," Francis muttered, "Hopefully, those berries would compensate the loss of that Pecha scarf."

Flash took out three Oran berries and handed each to Loopy and Francis. She ate her berry and felt slightly refreshed thanks to the berry's healthy nutrients. "That hit the spot; nothing feels better than having downed an Oran berry."

"Blue berry taste good! But still hungry," Loopy said as he rubbed his stomach. Flash sighed and threw him an apple. Loopy leapt up and caught the apple, gobbling it quickly. "Ah, taste good!" he said, patting his tummy.

Flash couldn't help but smile. "Loopy, you glutton," she told him as she got to her feet, feeling rather vitalized by the Oran berry. "I feel good to go right now!" she then burst out, flexing her arms. She then cast a look at the smiling Machop and sighed. She had gotten that behaviour from him after all. _"I wonder if this Rescue team thing will ever end..."_ she wondered while her arms slumped down a little. She started to wonder if she really had taken a liking to this Rescue team thing, seeing that she had taken a job that wouldn't yield any money whatsoever. She quickly reminded herself that she had done that just t beat the Team Meanies.

Remembering that, she became a little stressed. "Okay guys, let's move out and find Metapod! Chop, chop!" she told her team mates as she clapped her paws together to work them up a little. She took the lead again and the other two quickly followed.

Travelling deeper into the forest, it was getting suspiciously quiet. Flash looked around herself every now and then to see if that mysterious shadow would appear again, but there weren't any signs of it. Due to being worried of the mysterious shadow, she became unaware and tripped over a root, falling head over heels towards he ground. She felt a hand grab onto her paw, hindering her fall and turning her around slightly. "Thanks, Loopy," she said, smiling slightly at the Machop.

"Flash clumsy!" he blurted as he pulled her up to a stand. "We find Metpod soon," he then assured.

"Wait!" hissed Francis as he took a defensive position. "I believe I heard something." He looked over at the direction he had heard the noise. His ears flickered at some more noises from the distance he heard. He narrowed his eyes.

Flash inched closer to Loopy. "I… I don't hear anything," she said quietly. Loopy put his arm over her shoulder, hugging her closer to him.

"I cannot help but wonder what is going on over there. I might take a suggestion to head over there to investigate," suggested Francis, taking a few quiet steps towards the direction. "After all, we still need to head over to the very same direction in order to find our client. The problem is just that we need to be extra cautious."

"Aw, man…" Flash groaned, sighing afterwards. She slapped Loopy's hand away and carefully following Francis. Loopy followed her as well. "Loopy, stay close now, okay? No dancing with any Sudowoodo if you see them," she reminded him. He nodded and tried to stay close to her.

The Machop then took the time to look at the tip of her tail, and then at his own shorter tail. "Why Flash tail fire, but me not?" he asked as they proceeded quietly through the forest.

Flash resisted the urge to snap at him, as doing so would cause too much noise. "I'll explain when we get home," she growled lowly, only to be hushed by Francis.

The Rattata stopped suddenly, and gestured the other two to get down. They crouched down and stayed as close to the ground as possible. They were in front some thick looking bushes, and according to Francis's behaviour, there was something at the other side of those bushes. They all crept carefully up to them and tried peeking through the foliage, hoping that whatever at the other side wouldn't spot them.

"Ugh…! Aaah…" The group froze in fear at those cries that sounded almost like death cries. As the team leader, Flash tried to get a better view of the other side. What she saw was a lone, large, green Pokémon standing in front of what seemed a hole. The scythes the Pokémon had for arms were lowered, and they quickly distinguished that it was one of the more dangerous Pokémon in Sinister Woods.

A Scyther.

The mantis Pokémon was breathing slowly as he looked down into the whole. The dual type didn't seem to have any injuries at all, and hadn't noticed the presence of Team Brawl. He kept his solemn stare down into the hole, and did a slight gesture with his right scythe, following up with a nod to himself.

During her childhood, Flash had learned how dangerous Pokémon like Scyther could be, and various reasons to stay away from them. And even though this had been the first time she had seen one and that she actually had the type advantage, she still found them looking scarier than she had imagined. But somehow, she found it rather disappointing that it was _just_ a Scyther that had been this mysterious killer.

"_Figures… with all these swift shadows lurking about,"_ she thought as she watched the reptilian like bug from a safe distance.

Then, without warning, the Scyther looked towards her in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to look at her direction completely. She stepped back slightly, trying to hide. She shuddered when she saw the very faint smile on the reptilian face of the Scyther's. She struggled to break the eye contact from the mantis Pokémon and glanced at Loopy. He hadn't seen the bug type yet, but she knew if he saw him, he'd probably try something stupid. She heard a gulp coming from Francis, indicating that he too was aware of the Scyther having spotted them.

But just as sudden as the mantis had spotted them, he suddenly looked up to his right. He then looked down into the hole, and then at the Charmander and Rattata in the corner of his eye again, and smiled slightly at them. He spread his yellow tinted wings out and took off at a high speed, leaving the trio.

After a half a minute, Francis stepped out from the bushes, followed by Flash and Loopy. "That was… certainly unnerving," he stated, his fur seeming to have dampened a bit due to the nervous moment.

"U-uh-huh," Flash agreed, feeling beads of sweat forming on her forehead. "I wonder why he took off. I mean, why would he fly away when he knew we saw him? You know, taking out any witnesses?"

Francis put his paw to his lower jaw, rubbing it slightly. He hummed for a while, trying to think of a reason. "You are indeed right, Miss Flash," he muttered. He looked over at the hole, and approached it slowly. "I wonder what he had killed…" When he was right by the hole he looked down. He let out a gasp and quickly turned away with a nauseous look on his ratty face.

Flash ran up to the hole and looked down. She gasped as well when she saw what was in the hole. In the hole was another Scyther, although a lot more bruised, lying on its back in the bottom of the seemingly six foot deep hole. The most gruesome was not the dark greenish blood spots in the hole, but it was the fact that a pair of pointy wooden poles that were impaled through the Scyther's lower abdomen and the upper chest. Dark green blood covered both poles, and both eyes had a passed away look in them. And finally, there was the very same V symbol on its chest, only that the upper pole had impaled right between the two cuts.

Flash put her paw to her mouth, feeling nauseous as well. She heard Francis scamper up to her from behind, and peeked down once more. He let out a second gasp.

"What is it?" she asked him. She had noticed his upset stare.

"This… that… it could not possibly be…" he stuttered, still looking down the hole. Flash looked down as well, and could spot something pink under the Scyther's left side. "Loopy!" Francis then cried, getting the Machop's attention. "This… this is the Pecha scarf you wore earlier, is it not?"

Loopy approached and looked down the hole. He didn't seem much fazed of the sight, but he recognized the scarf. "May be," he muttered, "me no there put."

Francis almost went ballistic. "My, this is certainly not good. I would advise getting away from here at this very instant! We could very well be in the wrong place at the wrong time!" he rambled on, running back and forth repeatedly. He then suddenly froze. He slowly walked around in a small circle, his ears flickering again. "Oh no…"

Soon after he had uttered those words, faint buzzing noises could be heard approaching. It sounded like there was multiple of what was approaching them. The buzzing then stopped and was followed by sounds of multiple Pokémon landing on their feet. Then came sounds of running steps approaching them.

Five Scyther emerged from the thick forest and quickly formed a slight half circle around the threesome of Team Brawl. Flash and Francis edged closer to Loopy who had his fists raised as he tried staring the Scyther down. The bug types cast scornful glances at him, and the one in the middle stepped forward.

"You're in our territory," he quickly stated to them, looking down at the three. "Explain your business, and you better make it quick!"

Flash took a step away from Loopy and looked nervously up at the towering Scyther. "Well, we, uh…We're a Rescue team and we're k-kinda looking for-"

Another Scyther let out a loud gasp when she had looked down the hole. "Leader, take a look at this!" she cried, getting the leader who had questioned Flash. "It's… it's… It can't be…"

Flash looked at Francis nervously, knowing what would happen. "Look, I count to three, and we all make a break for it, okay?" she whispered to the Rattata. She looked over at Loopy and repeated the plan, simplifying it so he could understand it as well. "Alright, one… two… thr-"

"You're not going anywhere," a voice calmly said behind them. Another one harrumphed at them.

They quickly turned around to see two more Scyther that had stood behind them. The left one prodded Flash with his scythe, gesturing her two walk back to where she and the others originally were. Loopy looked at him, growling and raising his fists.

"Desist, Loopy, you are at a serious type disadvantage. It would be unwise to upset them further," warned Francis as he lightly nudged the Machop. Loopy lowered his fists, not taking his eyes off the two Scyther.

"Entarigo, no!" the leader Scyther cried out when he had recognized the dead Scyther in the hole. He slashed the air with frustration before he turned to face the female. "He was supposed to… it was today that he…" he struggled to get the words out, but was then reminded by himself that he had three intruders to deal with.

He quickly spun around to face the three Pokémon. "YOU!" he roared, "Why have you committed an act such as this?" he demanded. Flash inched closer to Loopy again, who stood firmly on his ground against the taller Scyther.

"W-we didn't… i-it was a-another S-Scyther who k-killed him," she tried to explain while being terrified of the Scyther. The mantis Pokémon studied her with his fierce eyes. "W-we're just o-on our w-way through. We're a-" She gulped, "Rescue team, a-and we're l-looking for a M-Metapod." She pointed at her badge tied on her blue scarf, indicating that she was a Rescue team leader.

The Scyther slashed the air with his scythe again. "Enough! What lies are you vile little fire type trying to feed me with? There are no traces of a Scyther battle on this deceased Scyther here," he claimed as the other Scyther began to close in, tightening the circle around the three Pokémon. The female Scyther still stood by the hole, and then hopped down into it after having spotted the Pecha scarf.

Loopy raised his fists again, frowning at the Scyther as he stood protectively in front of Flash. "We no attack Buggy," he growled, "I punch if come close!" The female Scyther flew up from the hole and handed the Pecha scarf to the leader, whispering something to him. He nodded.

Holding the pink scarf on his scythe, he shortly sniffed it, and then dropped it on the ground. "You two," he said lowly, pointing at Flash and Francis, "you are free to leave. The Machop," he continued, letting his gaze float over to Loopy, "or killer, should I say, must stay with us. He has to face the punishment for eliminating one of us."

"Hey! That's not fair!" Flash snapped, "I was another Scyther who did it! _You_ have a traitor among you!"

"This scarf, little Charmander, proves otherwise!" the Scyther spat, pointing his scythe at the Pecha scarf. "It _reeks_ of that killer's stench! What else is there to prove? The lack of cuts?" he went on. "Be grateful that we let you two free so you can do your fun little rescue!"

There was a pregnant silence in the air, with the leader Scyther glaring brightly at the scared and shocked Flash. Loopy hadn't moved an inch either; he was keeping his guard up. Flash couldn't believe it, now that they had been reunited with Loopy only to be separated from him not even an hour later.

"I might want to raise an objection," quipped Francis, lifting a paw thoughtfully.

The leader shot his glare towards the Rattata. "Overruled, Magikarp food, this evidence is decisive. This killer must be put to death, for the sake of everyone!"

"Hold it!" Francis shouted, earning a very bright glare from the Scyther. "Explain the V formed cut on your comrade's upper chest first!" Even though he knew he had outsmarted the larger Pokémon, Francis knew better than to give a smug smirk at the Scyther. He kept a straight face as he looked up at the leader Scyther.

The Scyther was silent for a while. He turned around and slowly walked towards the hole with the deceased Scyther in it, and slightly kneeled down to examine the corpse. He quickly rose up and walked back to Francis, looking him right in the eyes. "I'm sorry," he apologized, shaking his head, "but those cuts do not signify as Scyther cuts, so your theory is proven false."

"What an utter lie!" Francis burst out as his eyes widened. He was quickly silenced by a scythe that dug deep into the ground right in front of him.

"Our territory, our laws, Magikarp food, he probably used a tool to mislead us to think it was one of us doing it. Too bad it was executed so badly," the leader hissed as he loomed over Francis. "I will see it that you get escorted out of here, while we deal with this killer."

"_It's not fair!"_ thought Flash as she clenched her paws into fists. She thought bout unleashing a fire attack, but quickly reconsidered when she saw the Scyther around her.

"Very well, I surrender," Francis admitted with a sigh. "If you choose to persist with your beliefs, then so be it."

The Scyther snarled at him, but looked over at the two Scyther behind Flash and Francis. "Figaro, Narshe. Escort those out of our territory, and make sure they get that little box of things with them form that killer. He won't need them anyway." One Scyther walked up to Loopy and told him to take off the Toolbox and hand it over to Flash. He complied, but kept his teeth gritted and fists clenched.

The same Scyther kicked the Toolbox over to Flash, who was ordered to pick it up. She did that with difficulties due to it being a little too heavy for her, but she could manage it. The two Scyther then gestured the two to follow them.

"Don't worry, little Charmander," the leader called out after Flash, "our laws clearly say that even killers are allowed a fair chance."

Growling silently, Flash kept on walking alongside Francis. _"Come on, Loopy, don't die on me… please… I don't want you gone,"_ she thought.

Loopy stood in the middle of the circle of five Scyther. The leader looked at him hatefully with his fierce eyes. "Me no lose! Me strong!" he said with determination. "But me no kill!"

The leader ignored his slight speech impediment, and slowly raised his scythes. "You… against those two," he said lowly, pointing at the female Scyther and another Scyther, "defeat them, you're free, lose… pay the penalty…" He stepped back along with the other two as the two Scyther who had been picked by their leader stepped forward.

They stood next to each other, looking at the lone Machop. The female quickly spread her wings and used them to enhance a jump over Loopy so that she was behind him.

Loopy stepped back so he had the male Scyther on his right side, and the female on his left side. He took a deep breath and concentrated on focusing his strength.


	27. Mean Buggys!

_**Chapter XXVII: Mean Buggys!**_

Loopy felt his adrenaline rushing through his blood as he had been pitted against two Scyther outside of the five that were present. They both simultaneously hunched slightly, raising their blades. Loopy continuously looked left to the right so he could see both of them. The air was tense, and he knew this was an unfair fight to the death. He had already performed his Focus Power in order to get stronger. But how much it would help, he didn't know. But what also got to him was that Flash had been forced to leave him to deal with them.

He spotted a very slight movement from the male, seeing that he had taken a full, yet slow step forward. The male Scyther seemed to grin a little. This caused Loopy to turn all his attention towards the bug by facing him fully. He noticed the male pointing at him with his scythe, and then stepped back, lowering his scythes.

Loopy did a double take and then quickly turned around to face the female Scyther. When he had fully turned around, facing the male Scyther with his back, he realized that the female weren't there anymore!

He quickly became worried of where she was, and he tried to spend the least amount of time to look around for her. He could only spot the three other Scyther who were positioned in a wide triangle around him, all of them ready to intercept him in case he tried to run. He faced his male opponent again, who still had his scythes lowered as if he wouldn't attack.

"I figured maybe we start one-on-one first. And as the saying goes, females first," said the male as he clicked his scythes against each other, still keeping his grin on his reptilian face.

Loopy didn't take his eyes off him, and then pushed off with his feet in a dash towards his opponent. He was going to try a Low Kick when he'd be in range, hoping to stun the bug type. However, the male quickly dashed backwards, fluttering with his wings to keep slightly afloat to lengthen his backwards dash. That caused Loopy to halt his attack.

"Why no attack? Give up?" he growled as he flexed his arms.

The male Scyther stared confusedly at him with his mouth slightly open. "Wow, you're really dense for a killer," he stated as he raised his scythes again.

Loopy growled at the statement and scratched the ground with his foot like a Tauros preparing to charge. But he heard something approaching from his left side. When he turned to see what it was, all he saw was a clawed green foot heading straight for his face. The charging kick struck his right cheek perfectly, striking him with such force it caused him to flip over before he landed on the ground. His body helplessly skid on the ground, and when he stopped he lay there motionlessly.

The female giggled a little at the sight of her accomplishment. She kept her scythes raised when she started to slowly walk towards Loopy to check if he already was unconscious.

Loopy's vision had blackened for quite some times after he had been kicked down. His body twitched slightly as he tried to move, and his body had been grazed by skidding on the ground. He pulled himself together and fought the pain as usual, propping himself on his elbows to get up on a sitting position. But before he could fully sit up, the same foot that had knocked him down slammed down on his chest, pinning him to the ground again.

The female most of her weight on her right leg, making sure her opponent was properly pinned. She giggled again at him. "That was disappointingly easy." She sighed, lowering her scythes.

Loopy grunted as he looked up at the taller Pokémon and quickly grabbed her foot with both his hands. Before she could react, he used the strength he had to lift her up by her right leg and tossed her off him. The Scyther lost balance, but quickly regained it by unfolding her wings to hover before she'd get too close to the ground.

Landing gracefully on her feet, she raised her scythes again while Loopy had jumped to his feet, fists raised. "Well, look at that. Stubborn, aren't we?" she spat at him. Smiling confidently, she stepped back a few steps with her scythes ready to attack. Loopy followed, keeping an alert gaze at her. She just giggled at him and halted her retreat.

Loopy stopped his advance as well, using the short break to scan his opponent. He didn't appear to find any weaknesses yet, and he didn't really know what to do. His instincts told him not to show any weakness. He clenched his fists harder, enough to crack some knuckles, and kept looking up at the confident female opponent. His adrenaline was still pumping, and the excitement of the fight forced him to breathe more rapidly.

He got struck powerfully from behind by a charging attack. The attack caused him to fall head over heels towards the ground and landed face first a few feet away from the female. The moment he tried to get up again, a foot slammed down on the back of his head. Rendered completely defenceless and unable to push the foot off him in his face towards the ground position, he was literally forced to eat dirt.

"This is pathetic!" the male Scyther spat as he grinded his foot harder onto the back of Loopy's head. He watched the Machop flail with both his legs and arms uselessly in order to break free. "How did you manage to kill off Entarigo with such weakness?"

Loopy tried to twist and squirm his way out of the pin, but the male was in too much of an advantage over him. "Me no WEAK!" he roared.

The female walked up to him and crouched slightly. She reached out with one of her scythes and put the tip on it on Loopy's head, scratching it teasingly. "You never give up, huh?"

"Let him stand."

The male looked at the leader with disbelief. "But we got him now, so-"

"Let him stand," the leader Scyther calmly repeated, "Surely there has to be a reason how he managed to end Entarigo's life. One would think shoving him into the pit from behind, but the way he fell down indicates that he was aware of his attacker," he explained. He then sent the male a brief glare. "Now let him stand! He may be a killer, but he, too, deserves a fair fight."

Sighing, the male could do nothing but to comply and lifted the foot off Loopy's head. He, and the female, quickly dashed away to a safe distance as the Machop slowly to his feet.

Loopy rubbed the back of his head and spat out some dark brown globs of soil mixed with his own saliva. "Pfooh! Bleh! Me no kill! You fight, but…" He stopped, seeing the glares around him. He quickly brushed the dirt off him, wiped the remaining dirt off his mouth and raised his fists.

* * *

The remaining two members of Team Brawl had been escorted to the east edge of the Scyther territory by the Scyther Narshe and Figaro. The part of the forest was thicker and darker than the area the Scyther territory was located. They both looked up at the two Scyther.

"Here we are," Narshe started, "now you should be off doing your fun little rescue, Charmander."

Flash tried to keep a straight face, but felt slightly inferior in front of the towering Pokémon. "He didn't do it. He would never-"

"It is decided," interrupted Figaro, stepping towards Flash. "You should be grateful that you were set free. You and Magikarp food could very well have ended up under our scythes as well if Leader had decided."

Flash stepped back as the two Scyther seemed to surround her slightly. Francis had taken the Toolbox and was searching it. "Look, he's just a kid," she argued, "doesn't he look innocent enough to have killed your swarm member?"

"Looks are deceiving, Charmander," Narshe spat, stepping slightly sideways to get to the other side of Flash, "if you judge everything by looks, you're going to perish. Unfortunately, there could be the chance that our dear friend underestimated your friend," he spat.

Flash clenched her paws into fists, hard enough to almost cause the small claws to dig into her scales. "You… you're just a bunch of bug faced idiots who think you can do whatever you want just because you got a pair of scythe on your arms! Loopy didn't do it! If you can't get that into your fricking heads, you're nothing but stupid! You can't grasp the fact that YOU got a traitor amongst you! If there's someone pathetic it's you, you- Aaah!" Flash yelled and cried as her ranting was interrupted by a powerful swat from Figaro. The slap was powerful enough to knock her to her back.

She tried to get up, rubbing her sore cheek, only to meet a scythe pointing at her threateningly. She gulped. Both Narshe and Figaro looked down on her, the latter holding his scythe towards her.

"Aren't you a little too small to be smarting off, Charmander?" spat Figaro as he held his scythe completely still in front of her. "You know, just because we were ordered not to kill you…" he started, crouching slightly down and bringing his head closer to Flash's.

"…Doesn't mean we were ordered not to hurt you," Narshe added, sliding his blades against each other with a wide grin. "Of course, if you let loose of any fire attacks, we'll take that as a hostile action towards and then we _are_ allowed to kill you."

"He's right," said Figaro as he used his scythe to stroke Flash's cheek he had slapped earlier softly. "If you even lay a claw on us, we get the right to kill you. In other words, you're pretty much in a hopeless situation unless you really want to die."

Now Flash felt a fear gripping her whole body in a vicelike grip. "P-p-please… l-let me go… I-I don't w-wanna die," Flash whimpered. She sniffled and tried to crawl away from the looming Figaro. "You're going to kill my friend anyway, isn't that enough?" Tears began to trickle down her cheeks as she was held down by Figaro's scythe.

Figaro waved his scythe left and right, positioning at Flash's stomach. "Too late for that now," he simply said to her. "You have insulted us, and you knew very well you already were on a thin line. Narshe, how many cuts would you suggest?" he asked his friend, not taking his eyes off Flash. He slowly slid the blunt edge from Flash's stomach up to her neck smoothly.

"Four! No, make it five!" suggested the other Scyther.

"No… please… I don't…" Flash whimpered as she shivered while Figaro slid the blunt edge from her left shoulder down to her right leg, all the way down to the end of her foot.

Figaro calmly moved his scythe up to Flash's face, nearing her mouth. "You hush. This won't hurt… at the moment you're cut. But the less you move, the less your punishment hurts," he advised. He quickly withdrew the scythe and moved forward so he stood right over Flash, with one foot on each side of her. "I guess we'll make it four slashes, just because we're feeling nice today. I'll start." The Scyther lifted his right scythe, and with one lightning fast move, he slashed across Flash's stomach.

Flash had closed her eyes, and hadn't felt a thing when the strike had occurred. She felt something trickle down her side and slowly opened her eyes to see what it was. She could immediately recognize her own red blood running down the side of her yellow scaled stomach and gasped. She could judge how deep the wound was, but since it hadn't felt anything, it could just be deep enough to make it bleed. She looked up and saw Figaro stepping away slightly, allowing Narshe to deliver his cut. She tried to shuffle back with desperation, but a burning pain erupted in her stomach as he did so.

Narshe sighed, shaking his head. "They're not lethal attacks, so fear not. We need to state an example to those who wander into our territory," he told her as he raised his scythe. This time Flash didn't dare to close her eyes. She froze stiff in her lying position and tensed slightly to take the hit.

However, before Narshe could land his strike, he felt something in the air. He lowered his scythe and saw small dust particles in the air sprinkling down on him and Figaro. "What the…?" he mused as he inhaled the powder in the air.

"Sleep powder!" Figaro exclaimed, having inhaled some of the powder as well. "The rat! Where is he?" he snarled, feeling tired of the effects. He glared up where the sleep powder had come from, trying to spot the Rattata. Narshe started to feel drowsy as well, and looked around to spot Francis. But he took security measures and put his foot onto Flash's wound to keep her in check in case she would try anything funny.

A rolling ring of fire struck the side of Narshe's head. The force if the fire attack was powerful enough to knock him into his fellow Scyther. They both toppled and fell to the ground, struggling to get up due to the effects of the sleep powder.

Francis hopped down from a lower branch on a nearby tree, landing gracefully on the ground. He smirked, tugging his whisker while the two Scyther managed to stand up. "That should teach you not to be rude towards a lady!" he snorted at them while Flash struggled to get up herself. "Stay down, Miss Flash, I will tend that wound as soon as those bug types visit dreamland."

"You cheating little vermin!" snarled Figaro as he tried to rush towards Francis. In doing so, he quickly exhausted his last energy and his body gave in to the sleeping powder completely. He fell face first onto the grassy ground, snoring lightly afterwards. Narshe winced as his fellow Scyther collapsed, and knew that he would fall asleep too. He dozed off for a few seconds, and sank down to a sitting position. He cursed silently before falling asleep.

Francis smiled when he heard both of the bug types snoring lightly. He walked over to Flash, dragging the Toolbox with him with great difficulties, and gently put a paw on her wounded stomach. "Indeed it is a hurtful wound," he mused, opening up the Toolbox and taking out an Oran berry. "Eat this, _slowly_, Miss Flash, and the wound should fix itself with little pain," he told her, putting the blue berry in her half open mouth.

Flash chewed the nutrient berry slowly, just as Francis had told her. She refrained from swallowing it too early, and swirled her tongue to get the most out of the wonderful taste of the berry. A soothing warmth covered her wounded stomach, and when she looked at it, the wound slowly healed itself and turned into what looked like a light scratch. She slowly sat up and patted her wound, feeling nothing but a little ticklish from the scabs.

"Can you stand up, Miss Flash, or are you still in pain?" Francis politely asked. Flash nodded and slowly got to her feet. She wobbled a little, reeled towards a tree. She put one of her paws on the trunk to regain her balance.

"You really… showed those bugs, Francis," she commended, smiling at him. "Where did you get that sleep powder? I don't remember packing that into the Toolbox." She straightened up, shaking off the last of her dizziness.

Francis chuckled smugly, tugging his whisker. "I took the liberty of filling up the Toolbox with necessary items while Loopy and you were up to your little shenanigans. Of course I pulled the same strings as with the ones I pulled to get the Pecha scarf, which unfortunately got us into this mess…"

Flash gasped. "Loopy! Francis, we gotta do something to get him away from those Scyther! I don't think he's dead yet, the leader said he'd give him a fair fight, and Loopy isn't the one to give up easily!" she blurted in panic.

"Fear not, Miss Flash, I already have an ingenious plan thought up, as always of course. I will explain it to you on the way back!" he told her. She nodded and they both ran back into the Scyther territory where Loopy was, leaving the two sleeping Scyther behind.

* * *

Loopy was struck by a charging tackle from the female before he had a chance to dodge. He staggered over towards the male who delivered a powerful kick to Loopy's chest, knocking him straight to the ground again. He was losing; he had only landed one weak blow each on his two opponents, and they had landed attack after attack on him. Without using their scythes yet. He slowly got to his feet again, clenching his fists while ignoring the aches his bruises caused over his body.

The male approached steadily, taking careful steps towards Loopy. The Machop chose his target and rushed towards the male to kick him with a Low Kick attack. The male smiled and awaited the Machop calmly. The moment Loopy jumped up and tried to do the Low Kick in the air at the Scyther's thin yellowy midsection, his attack was parried by the flat of a scythe that knocked the foot away. While Loopy staggered to the side, the male Scyther took a few steps forward and lifted his own foot, slamming it down onto Loopy's head and forced him again to face the dirt.

To add further insult to the fighting type, the male spat a glob of saliva at Loopy's back as he rubbed his foot harder onto the head. He grinned while the spit his Loopy's back with a splat, and looked over at the female Scyther who stood not to far from him at Loopy's other side. He lifted his foot off Loopy's head, quickly stepping back to deliver a hard punt kick at Loopy's side.

Unable to retaliate or roll away, Loopy took the hard hit on his side and was helplessly flung a short distance towards the female, rolling slightly on the ground as he landed. When he stopped tumbling about, he found himself in a face up position. His vision was almost fading after all the beating he had taken, but it was clear enough for him to see the female standing right above him, leering down at him. In pure instinct, all his muscles tensed in his body. His eyes narrowed in order to get a better view of the female, preparing for any suspect movements from the bug type.

He spotted a movement on the female's left leg, and quickly saw that she was about to stomp her foot at his chest. He swung his right arm over his chest to create enough force to roll out of the way. He barely avoided the attack, hearing the foot slam down on the ground. After finishing rolling, ha felt a sharp pain in his side where he had been kicked before. It felt strained. He grunted and clutched it to try and ease the pain, which it didn't.

The female looked down at the ground where she had missed her attack. Blinking absentmindedly, she slowly let her gaze float over to where Loopy had moved. "Good dodge," she commended, slowly clicking her scythes together repeatedly, "and here I thought you dodged as slow as a Slowpoke." She walked towards him and ended up standing above him again. She lightly tapped his aching side with her foot tauntingly, causing him to yelp as he flinched to get away.

"Enough!" the leader barked, "He's softened up! It's now time to show him the true power of the Scyther! _Make him bleed!_" he ordered loudly, yet darkly enough to cause the other two spectators to flinch slightly. The two fighting Scyther looked at him and nodded. This was the cue meaning they were allowed to use their blades finally.

The female smirked and bent down slightly to look at Loopy's pained face. "Now we use our weapons, killer, so you better sharpen your skills," she advised, licking her fangs afterwards. She then took a large leap away from the Machop, keeping a distance from her opponent as the male were doing the same thing. The both clashed their scythes together, and both of the mantis Pokémon glowed white for a brief moment.

Loopy struggled to get to his feet and stand straight up. He recognized the Scyther's action and tried to use his own sample of Focus Energy, raising his arms to flex them. He felt the aching still being over most spots over his body, but now that he was aware of the Scyther going to use their blades, he had to try and defeat them, or they would kill him. He felt a slight hint of fear, locked it away.

The two Scyther uncrossed their scythes and hunched over simultaneously to get in their battle stance. The moment the male saw Loopy finishing his own Focus Energy, he rushed forward at a blinding speed. He beat his wings to get at an even higher speed, and he neared the Machop quickly. Just as he passed Loopy, he slashed at the fighting type's arm, opening up a delicate wound before the Machop had even reacted.

The female did the same in order to cross sides with the male, using her scythe to quickly slice at Loopy's other arm.

Loopy hadn't reacted when the two Scyther had switched sides. He hadn't felt any pain either apart from the aches he already had. He felt something trickle down his upper arms and saw that he had a wound on each one. He gritted his teeth and tried not to let that get the better of him. He decided to take the offence and kicked off to run up to the male Scyther. He pulled back his fist to punch at the bug/flying type, aiming for the thin midsection.

The male saw this coming from a mile and slightly kneeled down before letting himself take the hit from the Machop. The fighting type struck his armoured chest, barely harming the Scyther at all. Loopy's fist bounced back slightly after the attack, and a pain shot up in his right arm where the gash was. Sinking down to one knee, he clutched his bleeding arm and whined. While he was in his defenceless position, he saw a small puddle of blood form in front of him, his own blood steadily dripping into it.

He looked up to see the male towering over him, left scythe raised. With one swift move, the scythe swiftly moved across his face, this time causing a sting across it. He fell down on his side, using his other hand to clutch his face. As he slowly slid his fingers over his face, he could determine that the wound started from over his left eye diagonally down to his right cheek. He looked at both his hands; they were both covered in his own bright red blood. He rolled up to a sitting position and looked up at the male, who was leering down at him.

"Big… mean bugs… be fast," choked Loopy as he looked up at the scythe pointing at him. Some blood dripped over his left eye, reddening half of his vision. When he tried to wipe the blood off him, but with his already blood drenched hands, he only made it worse by smearing it all over his face.

"Small… killer Machop… be slow," the male mocked, imitating Loopy's speech. He heard the female approach, and looked up at her while holding his blade in front of Loopy. "You think he's defeated yet?" he asked her.

She giggled again. "Nah, not yet," she replied with a grin. "A few more slashes, and he's defeated."

The male smiled faintly and pushed Loopy's forehead with the tip of his scythe hard enough to force him on his back again. He then stepped away from the fighting type, letting the female take his place soon after. The female looked down at the bloodstained fighting type, and gestured him to get up. Loopy tried to do so, fearing that it could've been a trick, but what choice did he have? When he managed to get up his right knee, he felt the sharp edge of a scythe being pressed on his middle disc-like crest.

He slowly looked up to see the female leering at him. Some of the blood on his arms had started to coagulate a little, and was getting darker red at the moment. The female withdrew her scythe and examined him, as if trying to find a good spot to land a cut. He looked up at her and saw her taunt him by licking her fangs again. He seized the opportunity and used all his strength to push his left foot off the ground in a powerful jump. As he rose up in the air, he let loose of an uppercut like punch, striking the female Scyther's lower jaw hard and fast. The powerful blow caused her lower jaw to shut, also forcing her to bite her own tongue with the sharp fang she was licking it with.

"AAAAIIIIYYY!" she shrieked with a loud, piercing screech. She had not just been forced to bite her tongue, but her sharp fang combined with the hard and sudden blow from Loopy had resulted with her _biting through her tongue._ And the red tongue was still stuck in her fang as she was screeching at the extreme pain she was going through.

Loopy landed on both his feet, straightening himself up again to be prepared for any retaliation from the female. He felt odd inside, his power was swelling inside and all the pain seemed to be transferred into more strength. It felt overwhelming and he could even see his arm muscles rippling with power, even though it caused the scabs from the cuts to break off. Seeing the female reeling away from him, he quickly turned around to see the male surging towards him with his scythe raised.

Amazingly enough, Loopy could predict the attack as a horizontal slash, and swiftly crouched forward in a duck. The scythe swung lightning fast over his head, and Loopy rose up and charged energy in his right fist. He opened the fist and jumped up towards the male and let off a fully charged Karate Chop towards the male's throat.

He scored a perfect hit, causing the male to fall down on his back, coughing violently for air. Loopy landed on the ground and quickly turned around to face the female again, having figured their pattern out. He saw that she had gotten her tongue out of her fang, and small green droplets of blood dripped onto the ground. He got into a different fighting stance, having his palms exposed instead of balling them into fists.

"You… ki'er! Ushing cheap kackics!" she snarled, not able to talk normally due to her pierced tongue. She held out one of her scythes to look at her reflection, and a droplet of green blood hit the blank surface of the scythe. She had to keep her tongue outside her mouth to prevent most of the pain. She lowered the scythe again and stared at him with murder in her eyes. And then she charged at him with her other scythe poised to strike.

Loopy's instincts quickly managed to predict that the strike was going to be vertical, and stepped forward with his right foot. He charged up for another Karate Chop, letting the power inside him concentrate on the left hand. The female came closer and closer, but Loopy waited for the very moment, or his instincts' planning would be wasted.

He spotted a slight movement from the attacking scythe, and quickly moved his left foot so he spun around counter clockwise, avoiding the vertical strike by an inch. Before he finished his spin, he let loose of the Karate Chop towards the female's undefended midsection. The moment he scored a hit, it immediately caused the female to stagger back a few steps before she ended up falling down in a sitting position.

Loopy punched his fist into his other palm, and turned around to face the male who had already gotten to his feet again. He quickly looked over his shoulder to see the female rubbing her midsection with the blunt side of her scythes, but she was slowly getting up afterwards. By reflex, Loopy hopped back a few steps from her, facing the male again.

"Letting off the final offensive, aren't you?" the male spat, his voice still raspy after the blow to the throat. He coughed twice before continuing. "Gotta admit, you did good," he muttered lowly. He raised both his scythes and clashed them twice, ending with a pose. Loopy tensed and wondered what it was about.

The Machop took a deep breath as he watched the male take one step towards him. And then, without warning, the male sprinted towards him. Raising his fists, Loopy prepared to counterattack, but his hearing picked up that the female was sprinting toward him from behind, approaching faster. Instinctively, he quickly turned around to avoid her attack, suspecting it would come first.

But at the very moment he had completely turned around, he heard the male hastening up his sprint, and both of Loopy's shins were struck from behind. And at the same moment he was tripped, the female's foot met Loopy's face with full force. The combined attack caused Loopy to be flung back with such a force it made him flip back like a helpless rag doll. He did a full back flip, landing at the back of his head first on the ground.

During that flight, Loopy's world had seemed to spin at a rapid pace before turning into an eternal darkness.


	28. Ugh, adventure, pain

_**Chapter XXVIII: Ugh, adventure, pain.**_

A swirling darkness was all that Loopy could make out in his mind. Apart from the throbbing pain in his head overall, he felt an increasing ache at the side of his head, increasing and decreasing repeatedly. Nausea plagued his tummy and mind at the same time. The pain enhanced that unpleasant feeling in his belly. Something seemed to strike his left side of his head again, but the darkness persisted. He struggled to drift back to consciousness again, but opening his eyelids felt almost equal that of lifting two giant boulders with his little finger.

Another strike at the other side of his head hit him hard. _"Stop playing dead, you pest! Wake up!"_ a voice shouted at him. Loopy mustered his strength and tried to open his eyes once more. The moment he did that, a thin line of light pierced his eyes. He tried to move his hands to cover his eyes from the sharp light, but he couldn't find any strength to even move his arms or hands. He squinted with his eyes as he tried opening them, trying to fight the seemingly whitish sunlight. His eyes where slightly teary and it was almost as if the tears had glued the eyes shut.

Mustering a final struggle, he tried to open his eyes as wide as possible. What he saw first was nothing but a blurry mess of white, sky blue and green. He tried to move, but every part of his body seemed powerless and pained. The blurriness was slowly clearing up, and he could make out that the green thing over him was someone. He blinked a few times as some tears trickled down the sides of his face, trying to make out something of the multiplying green images. The images seemed to spin in a clockwise manner, and they seemed to be morphing together. Soon enough, the image became clear for Loopy.

It was the leader Scyther looking down at him!

Trying to get up, he soon came to realize that he was unable to even move, which he had already forgotten. He could only move his head very little, every other muscle in his body refused to respond. He shifted his look at his both arms, and saw the red line that defined as a cut. The wounds weren't bleeding, but they reminded him of the fight he had had with the two Scyther. And he had lost horribly.

"Finally," the leader Scyther spat back, "and here I thought your neck was broken." The bug type lowered his scythe and pointed it at Loopy's stomach. Not feeling the slightest twitch from the Machop, the leader pressed the tip into the scaly skin of Loopy's. He slowly dug the scythe into the skin, and then slowly slid it up towards Loopy's neck. Slowly and painfully, he opened up a long, deep wound across Loopy's body. He withdrew the scythe and poked Loopy's face lightly afterwards, leaving a red dot of blood on his forehead.

"Mean… bug…" Loopy breathed. The exhaustion and pained forced him to take a breath for every word he uttered. He could do nothing but watch the leader Scyther swat his face powerfully with his scythe once again.

"You fought badly, killer, just as expected," he continued, slowly lowering his scythe towards the other side of Loopy's chest. "You had an almost admirable last resort, but it was wasted."

Loopy struggled to shuffle himself backwards, but it was no use. He had to lie down there like a helpless Magikarp. "Me… no… kill…" he panted.

The leader Scyther lightly thrust his scythe into the grey-blush skin of Loopy's, piercing through it. And as he slowly slid the scythe down, opening another wound, he hissed, "Entarigo carried very vital information. The reconnaissance mission would almost cost his life, but the secrets he would've found would've been priceless. YOU, you knew of that, you must have known!"

"What… re…con…sance…? Loopy asked as he cringed of the pain the leader Scyther was causing by slowly opening bleeding wounds from his upper chest, proceeding all the was to his feet.

The leader Scyther ignored Loopy's question. "Now… what else can I do to punish you further before killing you?" he mused, moving a scythe close to Loopy's hand. "Cut off a few fingers? Hmm… maybe later…"

While the Scyther was musing, Loopy's nausea was getting worse. He began to feel dizzy of all the pain, and his tummy suddenly fancied emptying itself. He choked once, his chest bulging slightly. Another choke, a little louder one this time. He managed to turn his head a little to the left and suddenly threw up, most of the red, yellowish puke landing on his left arm.

"Bleeaaarrgh!" he uttered, spitting out last of the gastric acids that had made it out of his mouth.

"Revolting," the leader muttered. He used both his scythes to roll Loopy over so he lay face down. And he made sure to roll him away from the pile of puke. Loopy managed to move his head enough so that he rested on the right cheek.

"Feel… sick…" he whined. He felt something push down his back hard, and he guessed that it was probably the leader's foot. "Hurt… much…"

The leader scanned Loopy's back for a while, searching for a weak point he could exploit for his punishment. His eyes stopped when he spotted the tail of Loopy's. He put his scythe next to the tail, and slowly scratched near its base.

"No… me… lose… stop…" Loopy muttered randomly to the leader, who apparently didn't listen. "Me… want… live…"

The leader shot the Machop a look, and raised his scythe a little. With one quick movement, the Scyther slashed at the tail's base, digging the scythe halfway into it.

"Ah… ah… AAAAAAAA-GUHG!" Loopy cried before the leader Scyther slammed his other scythe at the back of Loopy's head to shut him up. He pulled the scythe off the stricken tail and pushed it slightly. It was almost cut off. _Almost._ Blood gushed out from the tail's base, and it seemed a little loose.

Loopy found an ounce of strength and tried to swat at the Scyther with his left hand. The moment he lifted it, it was pierced by the very same scythe that had almost cut his tail off. The pain was unbearable. It was enough so that Loopy couldn't even scream.

The leader Scyther kicked Loopy's left side after pulling his scythe out of Loopy's left hand. He kicked once more to force the Machop to roll over to his back again, and his right arm landed in the pile of puke as he returned to his face up position. He was gagging, struggling to even breathe.

"Now, the punishment is complete," spat the leader, "Now comes the execution…" He positioned his scythe so it was over Loopy's throat, and looked deeply into his pained eyes. In one quick movement, he would finally put an end to the one who had killed his fellow swarm member.

He was interrupted by some noise from the other Scyther. The leader saw some small pouches fly towards some of the other Scyther, hitting them and covering them with some powder. He saw one pouch heading straight for him. He dodged it and the pouch landed next to Loopy.

The leader narrowed his eyes to see where the pouches had come from. The other Scyther were shaking off the powder, but they all were feeling tired and weak. The leader quickly recognized the powder as Sleep Powder. He hissed as he spotted something orange hiding in a tree. He pointed at the thing with his scythe. "There! Get it!" he ordered.

The Scyther looked up tiredly and tried to fly up and check what their leader had told them to, but the Sleep Powder was already taking effect and they all fell in a sleeping heap. The leader snarled and sent a piercing stare towards the being in the tree.

"A fantastic execution of my plan indeed!" a voice quipped behind the leader. The Scyther turned furiously around and saw that it was Francis the Rattata standing there, tugging his whisker while sporting a smug grin. Before the leader could raise his scythe, the Rattata fired off his Flame Wheel attack he had been charging up. It struck the leader's torso and he was sent staggering backwards towards Flash. The Charmander jumped up to use her Scratch attack to slash at the Scyther's face

But the leader reacted quickly by swatting the scythe across Flash's head so her attack was interrupted. The Charmander fell down on her side, and when she tried to get up, the leader Scyther slammed his foot on her chest, and raised his scythe.

"You're too late! He's already dead!" he screeched at her, his scythe glistening in the faint sunlight coming through the trees.

"Mister Scyther!" Francis called, getting the leader's attention. As the leader had turned his head to look over his shoulder, he saw a small pouch fly right towards his face. The pouch hit him and he got Sleep Powder all over him, and even inhaling some. He lost focus of Flash and rushed towards Loopy's seemingly lifeless body with his both scythes raised. Francis tried to stop him, but he only got kicked away by the Scyther.

Flash jumped to her feet and spat an Ember towards the leader, striking his left wing. The hit caused the bug type to get off balance and fall over. The Scyther tried to get up, but the Sleep Powder was already taking effects, preventing him to use his strength. Within seconds, he succumbed to the effects and fell asleep.

"LOOOOPYYYY!" Flash yelled as she ran up to the bloodstained Machop. She knelt down by him and gently put one paw to stroke his forehead. "He… he ISN'T BREATHING! NOOO! LOOPY! NOOO! I FAILED HIM! AFTER ALL HE DID FOR ME! NOOO-HO-HOOO!" she howled at the top of her lungs as tears flowed out of her eyes. She looked at all his injuries and started to doubt he was alive at all.

She felt something push her away. It was Francis, who shot her a stern look. "Miss Flash!" he snapped, "Screaming is not the appropriate solution!" He put a paw near Loopy's neck and his eyes widened. "By the legendary birds… I can feel a pulse!"

Flash gasped. "BUT HE'S NOT BREEEAAAATHIIIING!" she screamed back at him, tears still flowing. "WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN THE SOUTHERN WAY BACK! IF WE HAD TAKEN THE NORTHERN WAY BACK, WE WOULD'VE-"

"_**WILL YOU PLEASE BE SILENT?"**_ Francis voice boomed as he shot a glare of murder towards her. There was a short silence before Flash broke it with some uncontrollable sobbing. Francis took a deep breath to regain his composure. "We need to put him in the recovering position," he then stated, "and you must help me with that."

"Bu-bu-bu-bu-"

"Do not disagree with me, Miss Flash," warned Francis, his tone tensing a bit. He then pointed at Loopy's head. "Tilt his head back a little. _Carefully,_" he instructed her, and she did so. The moment she finished her task, she could hear a very faint breath coming from the Machop's mouth. She gasped.

"Francis! He's-"

"I know, you have just cleared the passage through his windpipe, but there is still more you need to do! Put his left hand on his chest, and the other at his left side of his face, "he further instructed. Flash did what he told her to, and carefully put the hands at their respective position. She was worried if Loopy felt any pain in his left hand while being unconscious.

"I… I c-can't b-believe those Scyther…"

"We will discuss that later!" Francis interrupted. "Now roll him carefully over to his left side, and you are done!" he instructed again, and Flash followed the instructions carefully. "Oh dear…" he said suddenly, "his tail! It is almost…" Francis put a paw over his mouth to stop himself from vomiting. Flash jumped over Loopy's body to take a look at the tail, and she almost began to scream again.

She shot a glare towards the sleeping Scyther. "You… sadistic… fuckheads…" she snarled lowly. "I AM GOING TO-"

Francis put his paw over her mouth to shut her up. "Miss Flash, screaming is not going to heal the tail, and waking those Scyther up will only cause you to be turned into Char-Salad á la Scyther! And I take it that you would not want that, would you, Miss Flash?" he hissed lowly, staring straight into Flash's eyes with his own slit ones. She slowly nodded, and he withdrew his paw from her mouth and walked towards the Toolbox.

Flash sobbed and knelt down near Loopy's head. She lightly caressed his cheek, feeling his cold cheek, and moved her thumb claw over to his forehead, rubbing it lightly. "I should've been faster…" she whispered lowly to him. She noticed Francis trotting over to Loopy's back with some bandages in his mouth.

The Rattata dropped the bandages and carefully began to tend the base of Loopy's tail. "He is very fortunate. Only the flesh in his tail had been cut, not the bone itself, so it will heal without any problems." He looked at his work proudly, and white bandages were wrapped around the base of the tail. "Now we need a few Oran berries. We cannot feed him in the state he is in now, so we need to sprinkle the juices over his wounds. Less effective, I have to admit, but it is the only way," he told Flash, who nodded and brought some of the blue berries.

"H…here," she choked, handing Francis the berries. He took the berries and squished them, dropping the berry juice over Loopy's cuts and carefully smudging it over his wounds. He gestured to Flash to do the same. She squished some of the berries she had and gently smeared the juice over Loopy's face.

She noticed something, and almost gasped. When she was done, she could see Loopy's eyelids flickering. Some of his wounds were slowly healing, but only the light ones. He finally opened his left eye and seemed to smile slightly at her. "Loopy!" she cried happily, wanting to hug him, but realized he wasn't in a state to be hugged.

Although, the Machop's weak smile slowly melted into what seemed a horrified gaze. Flash leaned her head closer to him to look into his eyes. "Don't worry, all will be fine," she assured with a concerned smile. She could see something in the reflection of Loopy's eyes.

"MISS FLASH!"

Flash looked up to see Francis heading straight towards her. The Rattata rammed into her chest, knocking her away from Loopy. She was thrown away a short distance and landed on her bum. She was about to yell at Francis, but saw a yellow tinted scythe dig into Francis's back and he squeaked with pain.

It was the leader Scyther who had struggled to wake up again.

Had it not been for Francis, the scythe would've cut Flash's own head in half. But thanks to Francis's small size, the scythe had only dug a little way into his flesh. The large mantis Pokémon sent her a glare as he pulled the scythe off Francis and approached her with both scythes raised.

"Oh… d-dear… m-my back…" moaned Francis, trying to get up. He quickly decided to stay down to minimize the pain.

Flash was scared out of her mind. She back-pedalled away from the approaching Scyther who followed her calmly with a confident smirk on his face. She stopped her retreat and thought of what the Scyther had done to Loopy. She growled at the larger Pokémon to show her anger towards him.

"Why don't you run? Your valiant _rat_ managed to buy you some extra minutes of life, Charmander. Run while you still can," the leader offered, licking his fangs as he was in striking range. He raised his left scythe slowly, hinting Flash that she only had a few seconds left to decide.

Flash looked at the scythe, and then at Loopy. She clenched her claws and gritted her teeth. She looked up into the smug eyes of the leader Scyther and mustered all of her courage to spit out a powerful fireball with her Ember attack. The ball of fire sailed towards the Scyther's face at a very high speed.

The leader quickly moved his scythe and deflected the fireball with ease. The fire attack caused a small burn mark on his scythe, but it wasn't anything serious. He ignored the harmless fireball as it bounced along the ground, dissipating into nothing, and thrust his scythe towards the frightened Charmander, striking the tree she was standing in front of.

Flash let out a yelp when she thought her life had ended just like that. Her eyes were closed of fright, and all of her muscles refused to respond. Her eyes opened when she felt the smooth flat of the scythe gently caress her cheek. She saw the Scyther's face being _too_ close to hers, and was forced to watch the smug grin of the bug type.

The leader Scyther lightly pressed his two scythes together with Flash's head in between them. "I guess…" he trailed off, sniffing her face a little, "you'd rather die along with the rest of your little team instead of accepting my little offer I gave you earlier."

"I wouldn't leave my friend to-Ack!" Flash spat before the leader pushed the blunt side of his scythe towards her throat, stopping her from speaking.

"That only got you this far, Charmander. But there's something you never seemed to grasp, and that was the fact that the strong always prevails." He noticed her face scales getting an odd purplish colour. "Hard to breathe?" he asked her, pressing the blunt side harder towards her throat. He chuckled at her while he raised his other scythe.

As Flash struggled to even inhale, she slowly closed her eyes and waited for the end.

But then the pushing force of the scythe against her throat loosened up. She sucked in air and opened her eyes to see the Scyther limply teetering right onto her. The mantis Pokémon's body fell right at the tree and rolled over, hitting the ground next to her, unconscious. Flash stared at the downed mantis Pokémon, blinking. And when she looked forward again…

She saw Loopy, kneeling down as if he struggled to stand up. He clutched his right arm and seemed to scowl at the Scyther. Flash noticed his other hand, which was bleeding a little. He had probably used that hand to strike the leader Scyther from behind.

Loopy tried to stand up, only to fall to his knees again. "Learn… Karate… Chop…" he informed her, taking a deep breath for every word.

Flash ran up to him, trying to help him to a stand. "Thank Mew you're alright, Loopy," she whispered as she gave him a light hug, "Thank Mew." She made sure her arms embraced the Machop lightly so she wouldn't hurt him. And Loopy carefully embraced his wounded arms around her orange body.

"Pardon, Miss Flash, I am in a state of pain here. Could I please get some attention?" squeaked Francis as he still failed to get up on his fours. Flash let go of Loopy and dug through the Toolbox, tossing an Oran berry to Francis before she walked up to Loopy again. "Can I not get any more attention than that? I did save you life, Miss Flash," Francis ranted.

Flash ignored him for the moment, and put her hand on Loopy's shoulder. "Can you walk?" she asked softly. He nodded and tried to walk a few steps. The wounded tail caused him to limp slightly, but he tried keeping a straight face. Flash saw through him. "Not good… we don't know when those Scyther will wake up, but we better get outta here fast!"

Francis managed to get up after he had eaten the Oran berry, but his wound was still healing. "A wise idea indeed," he agreed, "unfortunately, his wounds are yet to be healed, and we need to take extra care of that tail of his."

"Tail… okay…" muttered Loopy, reaching for his tail to show his team member it was okay. But at the instant he touched it, he let out a shrill yelp. Flash quickly put a paw over his mouth to hush him so there wouldn't be another Scyther waking up.

"Well, to look at the current matters, Loopy does seem to be able to walk, but not fast. We will have to leave this place and head for the eastern part of this forest before these… predators… wake up…" Francis snorted. Flash and Loopy nodded, and they all left the sleeping Scyther and their territory.

* * *

After a tedious walk through the forest, they soon were at the eastern part of the Sinister Woods and well away from the Scyther territory. Flash sat down and let out a long sigh of relief, and so did Francis. But Loopy couldn't sit down due to his tail, so he had to lay down on his stomach and rest instead. They all shared an apple each and chatted about the events that had occurred.

Loopy told them about how he had fought two Scyther at the same time, and even how he had managed to cause one to pierce her tongue. "Scy go boom!" he chirped as he bit down on the apple he held.

Flash and Francis explained how the Scyther escorted them out went hostile towards Flash and how Francis used the current distraction to knock them both out with Sleep Powder from the bags he had brought. He was especially proud of having thought of bringing small pouches of Sleep Powder, but he didn't mention the Pecha scarf miss.

After the brief break, they all got to their feet and looked around the woods. "So, you remember what Caterpie told us how to make Metapod come out of his hiding place?" asked Flash. Francis nodded.

"Yes, indeed!" Francis took a deep breath. "YOO-HOO, METAPOD! OUT OF THE HIDING AND RETRIEVE THE COOKIES OF VICTORY!" he called loudly. He then grumbled something about that not being rather wise due to attracting unwanted attention.

Flash sighed after the short silence. "That's… a very stupid call…"

"But it is the one Caterpie told us would get Metapod out of his hiding!" Francis snapped back, already feeling a little stupid after the ridiculous string of words. The three were silent for a few more seconds before they heard a rustle through the bushes.

All of them immediately turned their attention towards the noise. They were all on their guard, fearing that the Scyther could've heard them. But out from the bushes…

…Came none other than Metapod himself!

"Y… you're s-sent by C-Caterpie, a-aren'tcha?" he asked nervously. Team Brawl nodded. "Wh-what took you?"

"Their incompetence is what caused them to take that long! Kekekeh!"

The four turned to look at where the voice had come from. They all saw a Gengar coming from the other side of the forest, accompanied with his two cronies, an Ekans and a Medicham.


	29. Forest, be, done

_**Chapter XXIX: Forest… be… done…**_

"Who are you calling incompetent, you big fat purple blob?" snarled Flash as she puffed out a small cloud of whitish smoke. She kept her glare towards Wolfgang the Gengar as the ghost type stood in front of his two cohorts, Cletus the Ekans and Griselda the Medicham.

The Gengar stepped up towards Flash, being twice as tall as her, yet not as tall as Lucifer. He kept his wide grin as he looked down at her. "Aren't you a little too weak to be wising off?" he sneered, his grin widening as Flash stepped back towards Loopy.

"Mister Wolfgang," started Francis, stepping forward to look up at the ghost type. "I would clearly make appoint that we have indeed faced a lot of… complications in this forest, so to say, and while it is evident that it took quite a bit of time, I have to ask what you were doing."

Wolfgang frowned, as his two cohorts stepped up behind him. "Keh… 's not easy to find a greenie like him in a place like this, is it?" he replied bitterly, pointing at Metapod who was slightly hiding behind Loopy. "Since we didn't know the secret call, you had the unfair advantage!" he spat.

Flash stepped forward, standing next to Francis. She tried putting on a tough look on her face as she looked up at Wolfgang's face. "That's right, you douche! We won, you lost, you suck, we rule" she cheered, blowing a raspberry at the Gengar. She stood tall and crossed her arms with a triumphant smirk.

"Kekekekeh… Is that so…" hissed the Gengar as he took another step towards the two, causing Francis and Flash to back a step simultaneously. "We heard your team was beat up… and was never to return…" The three of Team Meanies began to surround Team Brawl, with Wolfgang in front of Flash and Francis, while Cletus and Griselda smoothly walked past them, and formed a triangle around Team Brawl.

Flash felt a rush of insecurity flow through her body as she edged closer to Loopy and Metapod. "Why are you doing this?" she spat at them, "you already stole our mail yesterday, and now you're going to try beating us up so you can claim YOU rescued Metapod? What is the matter with you?"

The Medicham bobbed her head left to the right, "Ooh, la la!" she fluted, "In our quest for wo-"

"Cut that idiot 'la-la' out, Griselda!" snapped Wolfgang, "You know I hate it." Griselda put her hands on her hips and huffed, looking slightly away from the Gengar. "ANYHOW, in our quest for world domination, Metapod here plays and important role."

Francis narrowed his eyes as he looked at Wolfgang. "If I may ask, even though none of you seem to have the intelligence quotient more than a Shedinja's hit points number, what is really the point of accomplishing the rescue of Metapod? There is no reward!" The Rattata sighed afterwards when he saw Wolfgang's confused look. "What I meant, you _simpleton,_ was why the bloody blazes you are wasting our time with this foolery!" he snapped.

Francis then heard a slight hiss behind him, and he quickly turned around. His face slightly paled at the sight of Cletus the Ekans looming over him with a angered look on his face. "Of course there is a reward!" Wolfgang snapped back, "when we get Metapod back, and after we 'persuade' him to say that WE got him back, we will ask Caterpie for a reward. And if he can't pay up, he will join us, and we'll be one step closer to world domination!" he proudly exclaimed to the Rattata.

Flash cast the Gengar an odd look. "What?" she said lowly with disbelief. She quickly turned around to see the Medicham staring down at Loopy, who was keeping Metapod close to him. She looked back at Wolfgang. "What?" she uttered again, feeling her corners of her mouth twitch a little in a laugh. "How is a _Caterpie_ help you in your goal of _World Domination_?" she said mockingly, starting to chuckle uncontrollably.

"Ukeeh! How dare you!" spat Wolfgang as he powerfully stepped up towards the chuckling Flash, his red eyes glowing brightly. "We have had enough of this, I say! Since we are going to _kill_ you, I will now reveal to you all our secret plans regarding Caterpie's membership."

Francis managed to look away from the Ekans and facefaulted slightly. "Famous last words… idiot," he grumbled lowly to himself. However, as soon as he had uttered that, he failed to notice Cletus's quick movement, and was trapped in the Ekans's coils.

"I will teach you a lesson about life, rat," he hissed as he eyed Francis smugly.

Loopy quickly told Metapod to stand back before Griselda lunged at him, her left palm glowing an icy blue. Loopy didn't have time to dodge, and Griselda struck Loopy's cheek hard with her palm. The force of the Ice Punch threw Loopy to the ground, but he didn't suffer any freezing effects from the attack.

Flash gasped when Wolfgang's two cohorts had attacked her team mates so suddenly, and quickly looked back up to Wolfgang to be ready for his attack. Problem was that he was nowhere to be seen. "Huh?" she uttered in confusion. She quickly turned around to help Francis out of Cletus's grasp, but at the moment she turned, she felt the base of her tail being grabbed by something, and then the mysterious grabber lifted her up, holding her upside down. "Cheap!" she cried.

"Kekekeh!" laughed Wolfgang as he materialized from thin air. "Now that you're rendered harmless, I will continue. Once Caterpie is one of use, we'll use him for our incredibly evil deeds such as using him for decoy while we steal and ransack other Pokémon's homes." Wolfgang hoisted her up to his face level, and evaded her attempts to swipe at him.

"You creep! Let me go!" Flash yelled as she flailed her legs and arms to make the Gengar's grip loosen. Wolfgang's grip was firm, and he grinned widely as he stuck out his big red tongue under her head. "If you even think of… nooo!" she yelled as she tried to avoid the tongue by squirming away from it. Wolfgang chuckled.

Francis eyed the Ekans calmly, even though he was in a completely helpless state in the coils. "Mister Ekans, there is-"

"Call me Cletus," the Ekans softly hissed back, moving his face closer to Francis's.

"As I was saying, Mister Cletus, there is never a need to teach _me_ about anything. And secondly…" He tried to move in the tight hold, "could you please soften it up a little? It does hurt and I feel a tad uncomfortable."

Cletus responded with a tighter squeeze. "Why? So you can fool me? Ha!" he scoffed. Francis frowned at him while he tried to breathe as normally as he could, despite the tight squeeze almost cutting his air supply off.

Loopy was sitting down before the taller Medicham. He was aware of his current disadvantage towards the dual type, and his tail was still a very vulnerable part of his body at the moment. The bandages still there, he briefly tapped it and winced.

"Quite the wound you have there, little Machop? Hoo hoo hoo," she cackled, clapping her hands above her head. When she saw a slight movement from Loopy, she stepped forward once and loomed over him. "Now, now, no hasty movements," she warned. Loopy unclenched his fists and frowned.

Flash had a hard time trying to keep herself away from the tongue of Wolfgang's, and she didn't know for how long she could keep up with his taunting. The ghostly tongue was seemingly always an inch from her face, no matter how much she tried to move herself away from it.

"You see," continued the Gengar, with his tongue still out, oddly, "acquiring world domination requires a lot of moneys, and Caterpie will be excellent at helping us with that. I'd say that are our secret plans of Caterpie, so…"

"Can you stop with what you're doing with your tongue?" yelled Flash as she still avoided the tongue.

Wolfgang let out another grin and flicked his tongue really close to Flash's muzzle. "Why? I'm not touching you with it. Kekekeh!"

"Then stop not touching my face with your tongue!" she snapped back. Her scales paled instantly. "No, wait-" Too late. Wolfgang gave her a slimy lick across her face. The saliva quickly disintegrated into her scales due to its ghostly attributes, and she began feeling uncontrollably jittery in an instant.

"You had it coming! Kekekeeh!" laughed Wolfgang as he watched Flash being under the effects of paralysis.

Cletus narrowed his eyes as he tasted Francis with his forked tongue. "Well, I guess it's time to say goodbye." The Ekans opened his mouth wide, but just as he was about to bite down on Francis, a scorching wheel entered his mouth. "GAAAAH!" His grip around Francis loosened and the Rattata jumped away from the Ekans. Francis back-pedalled to get a safe distance from Cletus as he writhed in pain of the flames that had scorched him.

Griselda looked over to her team mate when she heard him scream. This gave Loopy enough momentum to stand up and let off a Low Kick attack. The attack struck the Medicham's groin. With a powerful thud, the dual type slumped down to the ground, and Loopy ran over to Flash to help her.

Wolfgang was taken aback of the events suddenly turning to a disadvantage, and tossed Flash away. He frowned and turned invisible using his ghostly attributes. The Machop skidded to a halt when he saw Wolfgang disappear. "Huh?" he uttered in confusion.

Loopy felt something rush behind him and suddenly punch him hard on the back of his head. The sudden hit threw him forward, hitting the ground face first in front of Flash. He quickly scrambled to his feet and turned around to face Wolfgang. He still couldn't see him, but he kept alert in case the Gengar would try a cheap shot again. He didn't sense an attack, but he saw Francis beginning to have trouble with Cletus.

"Oh, dear!" the Rattata yelped as he hopped away from the Ekans who attempted to bite at him. The snake Pokémon flew straight into a nearby tree due to his reckless assault, giving Francis enough time to look over at Loopy. "Loopy, concentrate on the Medicham! You cannot land a hit on a ghost type!" he yelled before turning his attention back to the Ekans.

Loopy quickly looked over at the downed Griselda, and figured he still had some time to check Flash's condition. He knelt down to help her up to a stand, and noticed her uncontrollable jittering. "What wrong?" he asked her, trying to hold her still.

"G-get th-them, d-damn-it!" she stuttered as she tried to shake the paralysis off. It wasn't a serious case of paralysis, but it slowed her down drastically. She tried to spot any suspicious movements from Wolfgang.

Cletus slithered swiftly towards the Rattata, who was constantly aware of his adversary. "You know… battling snake Pokémon is dangerous…" he hissed lowly while having a confident smirk.

"Because you never know when they attack," Francis quickly finished up for Cletus. "Do not try to teach me…" he warned lowly, staring fiercely as he could into the slitted eyes of the Ekans's. Francis quickly tried to charge up his signature attack Flame Wheel, but to his horror, nothing happened. "Blast it!" he cursed; he had used all of his power in his Flame Wheels, and was unable to use the attack.

Cletus saw the chance and shot towards him like a missile. Before Francis could react, he found himself in the coils of Cletus's. The Ekans hissed with glee. "Not so clever now, are ya?" He squeezed hard enough to prevent the Rattata from answering.

Loopy charged towards the busy Ekans to help Francis, but he felt something grab firmly onto his tail and hoisting him up. Due to the wound in his tail not having healed yet, it hurt… a lot.

"AAAAAAAAAUUUUUGH!"

Everybody, Team Meanies included froze at Loopy's shrill yell of pain. Wolfgang dropped the Machop who slumped down onto the ground seemingly lifeless. Cletus still made sure his grip was firm, and Griselda was slowly getting up, walking slowly towards Flash.

"_His tail!"_ Flash thought with distress was she barely noticed the Medicham walk up to her.

"…Keh…. Keh… KEKEKEKEEEH!" Wolfgang laughed loudly and sinister as he placed his ghostly foot on Loopy's back. "We win! Another step towards world domination is completed!" he announced, pointing up at the sky in a victory pose. Flash tried to spit an Ember towards Wolfgang, but was struck down by Griselda.

"You… you… TAIL PULLER!" yelled Flash while she was pinned down. Wolfgang just looked at her by the corner of his eye. "I… I won't…" She was unable to finish her sentence, as the Medicham's pin put too much pressure into her lungs. She cursed inwardly how she could've lost to those idiots, and how Wolfgang had discovered Loopy's weak tail.

Cletus turned his attention toward Francis again, and noticed the Rattata's face having changed colour slightly due to lack of air. He laughed a hissing laughter before opening his maw widely, nearing Francis's frightened face.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound swished past the Ekans. Cletus quickly looked to the side, only to see his team mates as baffled as him. The Ekans looked back at Francis and grinned again.

"Ukeeh!" Wolfgang cried, his eyes having widened as he pointed at Cletus. "You're bleeding!"

"What?" Cletus did a double take, and looked at his side. Wolfgang had been right; he was bleeding, and the sudden pain caused him to cringe, letting Francis go in the process. "Aaa- how?"

"_Oh no… not them… please…"_ Flash begged to herself, closing her eyes.

Another whoosh, and both Wolfgang and Griselda jumped with fear at the sound. "Griselda, get the Metapod and we're outta here!" the Gengar ordered, and the Medicham ran towards the bug type. But before she reached Metapod, she was knocked away by an invisible force. She was flung backwards and landed on her bum.

Out of thin air, the attacker appeared. It was a Scyther, much to Flash's demise. The big mantis Pokémon stood in front of the Metapod with both his blades crossed across his chest in a defensive pose.

"Who… how dare you interrupt our mission, you bug?" Wolfgang snarled as he put on a frown. Both Griselda and Cletus stepped/slithered in front of the Gengar in a defensive pose to make a point. Flash jumped to her feet and ran over to Loopy to check if he was okay, and Francis was lying down to regain his breath.

The Scyther was unfazed by the comment, not moving a muscle. Team Meanies started to feel a little insecure before the calm demeanour of their new adversary. The Scyther then narrowed his eyes a little.

"Couldn't help hearing about the race you had to rescue this Metapod," he finally told them, uncrossing his blades in one quick movement. Seeing Team Meanies' flinch, he grinned faintly. "I've already caused enough trouble to those three over there… so that leaves you-" He raised one of his scythes to point at Team Meanies. "-to be taken down so _I_ can take care of the Metapod." He slowly raised his other scythe and hunched over slightly, getting into battle stance.

Wolfgang returned the Scyther's stern stare, and clenched his fists. He then grinned. "Kekekeh… we're three, you fool, and you're only one," he spat.

The mantis Pokémon instantly dashed towards the three and disappeared. Wolfgang's eyes widened with sudden fear as he, and his team mates was about to take a defensive stance of their own. But Cletus and Griselda was swiftly knocked away from Wolfgang, both landing on the ground with cuts all over their bodies.

The Scyther reappeared again, this time dangerously close to Wolfgang. "And now it's just you versus me, annoying Gengar," he lowly snarled, raising his right scythe to strike. Wolfgang cowered and tried to step back, but feared to move before the towering bug type. "Or you rather run?" asked the Scyther mockingly.

Wolfgang yelped and leapt backwards to get out of the Scyther's striking range. "Ukeeh! I… You… you'll pay for this!" he yelled at the bug type from a safe distance as his two team mates slowly got up. He watched the Scyther stand almost perfectly still, as if trying to attack without warning.

The Scyther then lifted his scythe quickly as if tossing Wolfgang something. "Sure, I'll pay. Here, keep the change," he joked with a grin as he saw Wolfgang's face darken with anger.

Wolfgang huffed, and then gestured his minions to come with him. When they turned to leave, he saw Flash standing in front of him. Apparently, she had snuck around him while he had been busy with the Scyther. "Out of my way, lizard!" he snarled before shoving her aside powerfully. Flash hit the ground, and stared after Team Meanies who left.

"Now…" began the Scyther as he turned to face Team Brawl, "you might be wondering why I pulled this off, and I take it that you're worried that I'm off the Scyther swarm your friend was almost killed by. To your luck, I am not," he quickly explained.

Francis gently stepped forwards to look up at the Scyther. "You were the one who killed that Scyther, were you not?" he began. The Scyther nodded. "And you framed Loopy by planting that Pecha scarf you stole from him. Quite clever, I might say."

The Scyther took a quick step towards the Rattata. "You're not in the right position to act wise, rat!" he snapped, "And don't think about threatening me to tell the Scyther swarm either. From what I've heard, when their leader decides something, it's absolute truth, and it's never questioned. And I'm sure of that you have noticed that too. Let's just say your Machop friend happened to be the perfect device to mislead those simpleminded twits to make my mission easier."

Flash clenched her paws slightly. "He almost died, you bastard!" she snarled. The Scyther turned around and looked down at her. She quickly backed away a few steps.

"Nevertheless," the Scyther continued, not showing any care to Flash's outburst, "I have to commend you for escaping them with your friend. Rather excellent use of sleep powder, I might say. But enough with the chitter chatter, I'm taking that Metapod with me, and none of you are in shape for fighting me." He calmly started to walk towards the Metapod, who looked with scared eyes at the Scyther.

"Wait!" Flash cried. The Scyther stopped. "We… we really need to rescue that Metapod! Is… is there anything we can do for you to let us do it?" she offered. The Scyther grinned widely, revealing that one of his fangs was missing.

"I'll let you off for two thousand Poké, and for three thousand, I'll escort you safely out of the forest too," he calmly replied.

Flash held back a gasp at the high price. She knew there was no chance for her team to fend off the Scyther, and Loopy was too weakened to do anything. "What's your beef with Metapod?" she asked.

The Scyther took another step towards Metapod. "While being busy completing my other requests, I couldn't help but noticing your teams' little race for that Metapod. Surely the reward must be a rather handsome one for you two to race and then battle so fiercely to be the one team who rescued him."

"Requests?" uttered Francis, "was that Exeggutor you killed one of those requests?" The Scyther looked over at the Rattata and nodded.

"Correct, rat, and to consider I indirectly saved you from them, I'd say you owe me quite a lot," he finished.

Flash snarled again. "You pinned a crime on Loopy! That evens it out! Looks at his tail, damnit!" she yelled at him. She remained unfazed as the mantis Pokémon quickly turned his attention towards her.

"You're at a disadvantage, and I can just attract some unwanted attention soon. If I'm not mistaken, the sleep powder should wear off soon. So, if you don't accept my offer, you better use that little teleport badge of yours."

"Hmph, looks like we are without a choice," muttered Francis.

"Wait!" cried Flash.

"Do I look like a waiter?" the Scyther promptly replied, keeping a solemn stare at the trio.

Flash kept her face straight as well. "You'll get fifty percent of the reward!" Francis shot her a look of irritation.

"Make it eighty," the Scyther promptly replied, grinning at Flash's offer.

"Sixty!"

"Seventy."

"Sixty-five!"

"Deal," the Scyther accepted, holding his scythe forward in a gesture of a handshake. Flash slapped the flat of the scythe, indicating closing the deal. "Well, then, bring your little teleportation badge forth, and make sure you don't leave me out. I warn you, no one crosses me and gets away without paying up."

Flash looked warily at the taller Pokémon, but straightened herself up. "Yeah, gotcha," she just replied, looking over at Loopy who was slowly standing up. When she saw him raising his fists to stare down the Scyther, she quickly gestured him not to, and he hesitatingly complied. He staggered towards Metapod and picked him up. He then limped towards Flash, trying to strain his tail as little as possible, and ended up next to her. Francis had approached Flash as well, and the five stood close to each other as Flash fiddled with her rescue team badge.

"I did not catch your name, Mister Scyther," Francis told the bug type.

The Scyther looked at the Rattata. "Vargas," he simply replied before Flash pushed the small button on her badge, enveloping all five in a yellowish light as they travelled away from Sinister Woods.

* * *

The quintet appeared not far from Flash's house. After grumbling about the badge being slightly inaccurate this time, they walked the short trip to her house where they were met not only by Caterpie, but by Butterfree and a Cascoon. The Butterfree's face seemed screwed with anger, as she had probably been chastising the Caterpie.

"Metapod!" Caterpie shouted as he wiggled away from his mother to meet up with his friend. "I was so worried!"

Butterfree flapped over to her child again, still angry. "I hope you realize that you'll be grounded until you're a Metapod yourself!" she growled, and Caterpie whined. "You could've died, and so could you friend!"

"Excuse me, Mrs Butterfree," the Cascoon interjected, "at least they're safe and sound." Butterfree huffed, and dragged Caterpie and Metapod with her.

"And _your_ mother is very worried too!" she snapped. Metapod whined as well. The Cascoon looked at Flash.

"You might not recognize me, but it's me, Orly from Tiny Woods. I heard of Metapod's absence and was thinking just like Caterpie to warn you about…" Orly did a double take when he noticed Vargas. "Oh, you…"

Vargas stepped forward, and looked down at Orly. "I carried out the request of taking out the Exeggutor, and I hope you have the payment ready when I get to Tiny Woods tomorrow," he said lowly.

Orly nodded (somehow) at the Scyther before turning to Team Brawl again. "I see you met him. I don't see why you were in such a rush to Sinister Woods. I did send a letter that we banished the Exeggcute to Sinister Woods when we feared it would evolve soon."

"Letter? What letter?" asked Flash. She remembered the days when Team Meanies had stolen her mail. "Wait, never mind."

"What about my cut?" asked Vargas as he put his scythe on Flash's shoulder and pushed it to spin her around. "Why didn't you get the reward from Metapod? Do you get it tomorrow?" he asked further, narrowing his eyes.

Flash gulped and tried to keep a straight face. "W-w-well…" she started, and then slapped her paw on Vargas's scythe. "Here, s-sixty-five percent out of zero P-Poké!"

There was another silence between the mantis Pokémon and the Charmander. Vargas's scythe started to tremble ever so slightly with anger, and he slowly snarled at her. "Wow… that was… unexpected," he finally said. "Bravo, you managed to trick me," he then commended, clicking his scythes together.

Loopy walked up to Vargas and raised his fists again, suspecting that he'd try to swipe at Flash.

"Attack me, kid, and I'll see it that you will be without your tail," he warned, not looking at the Machop behind his back. Loopy lowered his fists, but didn't take his stare off the Scyther's back. "Again, Charmander, I learned a new lesson today, so I'll let you off this time." He turned around and walked past Loopy. He drew a long sigh and then ran off, taking off into the air flying.

Flash sighed when Vargas was out of sight. "That… was close…" she said lowly.

"Indeed," Francis replied, "and here I almost feared that he would have turned you into shreds for tricking him like that. Too much a gamble, I would say."

"Hey," snapped Flash, "at least we didn't need to pay him! And we all made it out safely!"

Francis sighed. "Well, seeing as how this dangerous mission gave us NOTHING _and_ we are unable to do any missions in Sinister Woods due to the Scyther swarm being after our heads. I would say this was a terrible mission!"

Flash grinned slightly, having an evil look in her eyes as she picked out a black-purplish wallet out of the Toolbox. "Don't count on that, Francis. I managed to steal that Wolfgang's wallet when he shoved me away before he left!"

"Miss Flash!" Francis cried, upset of Flash's action as she opened the wallet and emptied of Poké. She greedily picked them up and counted them.

"Alright! Two thousand and five hundred Poké! Jackpot!" she cried happily. Loopy lightly bonked her head.

"Steal be bad! Flash promise to no steal!" he scolded her.

"Can it, Loopy, we all almost died one too many times, we indirectly won against those Team Dumbhats by taking their money! They stole our mail! Fair game!"

Francis rolled his eyes. "Once a thief…"

Flash's eyes widened. "IF YOU SAY WHAT I THINK YOU'RE ABOUT TO SAY, FRANCIS, I'LL FRY YOUR WHISKERS!" she yelled at the Rattata, who barely flinched. There was another silence as Flash breathed heavily to regain some air after her outburst. "Francis, get Loopy inside my house, and make sure he gets some rest. I'm going to the Town Square," she then told them.

Francis nodded and asked Loopy to come inside. While inside, he directed Loopy to the bed and made sure he lay down comfortably and then fed him some Oran berries.

Flash headed off to the Town Square to stop by at the Makuhita Dojo to enlist Loopy to the fighting tournament. After all, he'd probably be healed up within the two days the tournament would be hold, and after hearing about him fending off two Scyther, he'd probably stand a good chance in the tournament as well.

With her hopes high, she quickened her pace towards the Town Square.


	30. Plan Evening?

_**Chapter XXX: Plan Evening?**_

"Say WHAT?" Flash yelled at the Makuhita Spathi. "What do you mean all the places are taken already? I got the money in ONE day, damnit!"

Spathi shook his head. "I'm deeply sorry, but the last place was taken two hours ago, and it's a shame. If Loopy could've entered, he'd be paired up rather equally against a Tyrogue that took the last place today," he replied calmly, trying to give the Charmander some sympathy. "And there's always another tournament next month," he told her encouragingly, patting her back a little.

Flash gave an exasperated sigh. "Yeah, yeah," she grumbled, looking slightly away from the larger fighting type. "It's just that I had a real stroke of luck in the recent mission and was really looking forward to signing Loopy into this thing." She looked back at the Makuhita. "Oh well, I could always use the money for something else…"

Spathi smiled. "I guess, but in that time your friend have trained and become stronger. Maybe he'll evolve too, who knows?" speculated the Makuhita. "But today isn't a good day to get your friend to train in here. Aska and Xavier are really going at it today, and crossing their path usually ends with a dire injury."

Flash winced. "Does winning really mean the much?" she asked before she crossed her arms and sighed. "Fighting types…" she muttered lowly.

Spathi put his hands on his wide hips. "Aska is quite obsessed with her 'Boot-to-the-head', and getting one from her is rather painful." He then leaned closer to her. "And don't stereotype us just because we're spending most of the time fighting. We do other things as well. You've met the Machoke twins, Kuglo and Forto, right? Well, Forto, the younger one, is a great cook, and Kuglo usually takes art lessons from some Smeargle when he's not training."

Flash tried to imagine the two Machoke doing their side hobby and grinned. "So? I don't think it changes much of my views on fighting types, Spathi, most of them are muscleheads anyway, and some are a bit more flabby and… uhh…" she trailed off when she noticed Spathi looming over her with a frown on his face. "I… uh, I'm going now," she said as she slowly took some steps away from the Makuhita.

Spathi huffed, and kept looking at her, slightly aggravated. "Anyway, you think about it," he grumbled.

Flash gave a weak nod before turning to walk away. She stopped and looked over her shoulder. "What was the name of the Tyrogue?" she asked him, fearing the worst.

"I think it was Tyke," the Makuhita replied firmly.

Flash clenched her paw. _"That son of a…"_ she thought darkly when she was reminded of the very Tyrogue that had harassed her in Mt Steel. And she really had wanted to see him out of all Pokémon to get beat up by Loopy in the fighting tournament. Grumbling, she shrugged and left the Makuhita Dojo.

As she walked towards the centre square of the Town Square, she wondered what she'd do with the money she had with her. She first thought about going over to Kangaskhan's storage to use the money to pay off another part of her debt. She had about two thousand Poké with her, so Kangaskhan would be happy to see some progress. And it'd be nice to get something right done too.

But when she came to the Kangaskhan storage, her jaw dropped. The storage was completely locked up with chains, preventing any attempts to enter it. There was a sign that said 'Temporarily closed, dinner time'. Flash sighed and her tummy began to growl. She rubbed it slightly and looked up at the sky, seeing that evening was closing in.

"_Whoa… time flies with rescuing…"_ she thought as she stared at the beautifully coloured sky. _"And I'm getting hungry too…"_ Her stomach growled again, louder this time. "Hey, shut up, you… I'll see what I'll have today," she told herself as she started to think about the possibilities of a good dinner. She was just a little tired of apples and other fruits. After such a successful mission, she wanted something special. She scanned her mind to come up with a good recipe.

She snapped with her claws as she came up with one she liked, and one that Loopy and Francis would like too. She smiled to herself and headed over to the Kecleon Shop, which didn't seem to be closed yet. While heading to her destination, she tried to memorize all the ingredients, and how to prepare it properly.

However, when she came into the Kecleon Shop, she was met with a glare from the manager of it. "So," the green Kecleon started, putting both his hands on the counter as he instantly recognized Flash, "you dare showing your face here, huh? He rose up slightly and looked down at her angrily. "And you planned to steal from our shop _again_? We haven't even closed yet!" he added, clenching his fists onto the counter. He looked like he would tear the counter apart, and Flash knew that the Kecleon brothers were two Pokémon one did NOT mess with.

"No!" she snapped back, trying to stand up to the single Kecleon. "I came here to actually buy stuff!"

The Kecleon narrowed his eyes and pointed at the thing Flash was holding in her right claw. "And what is _that_, if I may ask?" he pointed out lowly.

Flash looked at what she was holding, and saw that she was holding the sign that had been outside Kangaskhan's storage. Flash stared at the sign widely and looked at the chameleon Pokémon awkwardly. "I… uh… I d-don't… know… h-how this…" she stuttered, slowly walking backwards to make a break for the door.

The door was slammed shut with a loud noise before she could reach it. She jumped with fright and spun around to see the Kecleon's purple coloured brother. "You're not going anywhere, thief!" he sneered as he stood firmly in front of the door, leaving Flash trapped inside the shop.

Flash growled at the name she was called by the purple Kecleon. "Go make out with a Lickitung, you slime!" she spat back. The purple Kecleon quickly stomped up to her and grabbed her arm before she could react. He then twisted it around and held her in an arm lock, forcing her towards the counter.

"Trying to fool other Pokémon with that sign so you could loot our stash, didn't you? Too bad you forgot the part that includes my brother and me not being here," the green Kecleon snarled as he grabbed Flash by her scarf.

"But I'm in a rescue team! I try not to steal things! I was just going to buy some food!" she yelled back, trying to get out of the painful arm lock. The purple Kecleon twisted it slightly more to stop her from struggling.

The purple Kecleon shot his brother a quick look. "What do you think, O'aka?" he asked his older brother, "you know how the saying goes. Once a thief…"

"…Always a thief," the older Kecleon, O'aka, finished as he pulled Flash closer to him.

"Bu-bu-bu-but I have money!" she cried out, resisting the urge to set O'aka's face ablaze with her fire.

"Really?" the green Kecleon replied suspiciously, "and you got that money after selling our stuff, eh? What do you think, Wantz?" he then asked his younger, purple brother. Wantz put his free claw to his lower jaw, thinking shortly.

"Er… I remember her stealing stuff, but it wasn't worth that much," he then said, keeping his arm lock on Flash's arm firm. "How much have you got?" he asked her.

Flash grunted under the pain. "I got two thousand!" she cried out, and Wantz let go of her arm. He then grabbed onto her left shoulder to make sure she wouldn't run away. "You don't need to twist it that hard! I just came to buy some ingredients for my dinner!"

"Really, then?" sneered O'aka, "but first you need to pay for the items you stole a few weeks ago." He held his claw forward again, as if wanting Flash to put her money on it. "With interest, of course," he finished. Flash growled silently as Wantz let go of her shoulder so she could put the Toolbox on the counter. She had no choice but to pay up.

"And with that done, I'd like to buy these…"

* * *

Having finished her shopping and put all the ingredients in her Toolbox, she tried to shake the scenario out of her mind. It was steadily getting darker outside, so she figured that she'd better hurry up to her own place. She quickened her pace, hoping to get out of the Town Square as quick as possible. As she passed a nearby house, she heard some squabbling going on inside. She first chose to ignore it, but recognized some of the names mentioned.

"Aw, come on, Kuglo! Why can't I have my beau here tonight?" complained the voice of Forto from inside. Flash stopped and decided to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Because I said so, Forto!" Kuglo shot back. "We've just moved in here, and we need fix things out first!" Flash heard the younger Machoke grumble lowly. "And if you keep whining about this, I'll DDT your head into the wall, are we clear?" he finished. She heard Forto walk away from the room and slam the door shut. She carefully peeked into the window and saw one Machoke, Kuglo, looking like a maid of sorts, cleaning his and Forto's new house.

She quickly ducked in case Kuglo would take a look outside the window, and giggled lowly. The look of the well trained Machoke was something that she'd have fun with for days. She picked up her Toolbox and set off to walk again.

"Hello, my little beau." Flash froze in her tracks. She quickly looked behind her to find no one, and no one seemed to be near her. She carefully tiptoed to the corner of the building and spotted Forto with his beau, a female Electabuzz. She saw the Machoke caress his lover. "My bro didn't allow me to invite you… I guess we'll have to wait with out fun for a while."

The Electabuzz moved her yellow furred hand around Forto's back, and lightly hugged him. "I have a suggestion where we can have fun…" she told him, and whispered something in his ear. The large fighting type jerked back. Flash wondered what she had suggested.

"Are you insane? I'll get disqualified from the fighting tournament if Spathi finds out!" he shouted back before the Electabuzz put her hand over his mouth. He pushed her hand away, allowing himself to speak again. "I know he's not there during night time, Jelza, but I can't risk that much!"

Jelza the Electabuzz giggled and lightly scratched the Machoke's chin, causing him to shiver. "But we do it during midnight, he won't be there, and the place is closed down. There's probably a window we can use to enter, right?" she suggested. Forto's cheeks slowly turned crimson as he tried thinking about the suggestion.

"Alright," he agreed, "but we need to be careful. We gotta find a place in the dojo where it's safe."

"How about the box room where Spathi's keeps his cleaning stuff?" she suggested. "You know, risk big, win big."

"Sounds fair enough," he replied lowly, giving her a short kiss. "Meet you by midnight then," he bid farewell to her as they went separate ways. Unfortunately, while Jelza walked to one direction, Forto was walking towards her direction!

Flash quickly stepped back before the Machoke noticed her, and flung her Toolbox over her shoulder. She reeled backwards of the weight, but then walked forward as casually as possible. Inevitably, she bumped into the younger Machoke brother, and bounced off the larger Pokémon and landed on her bum.

"Hey," Forto exclaimed as he looked down at Flash, "watch were you're going!" He regarded her shortly and recognized her. "Hey, you're that Machop's friend, aren't you?" he asked, softening up a little as he helped her up to a stand.

Flash felt her heart race with anxiety, failing to act as unknowing about Forto's events with Jelza. "We-we-we-well I-I-I, eh, hehe, I…" she tugged her scarf as she felt a lump form in her throat. She gulped and looked up at the Machoke. "I was j-just heading home, having, heh, fixed s-some dinner."

Forto looked down at her with confusion. "What's the matter? Feeling insecure these late hours?" he asked kindly, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Afraid that someone might jump and rob you?"

"We-well, uh, kinda," she replied, feeling sweat form on her forehead. She winced when Forto patted the top of her head.

"Don't worry, I'll walk you home. And if there's a big bad thief shows up, he's gotta answer to my muscles!" he exclaimed proudly as he flexed his right arm, his muscles literally bulging.

Flash clenched her paws. "I'm not a little kid, you know," she told the bigger Pokémon. She readjusted the Toolbox by flinging it over her shoulder, but the weight of it cased her to fall back again. "Oof!"

Forto guffawed loudly, and helped her up again. "I'll carry that for ya, if you want," he said as he picked up the leather bag for her. Flash grumbled lowly something about fighting types, but chose to accept Forto's help. The Machoke smiled and accompanied her towards her home. "So, you're cooking something, eh? Let me give you a few tips…"

* * *

When the two arrived at Flash's house, the sun was already down, and the darkness was making its approach. During the walk, Forto had given her various tips on how to make Flash's dinner better, and stuff like that. He handed her the Toolbox he was carrying for her and then looked at her shack.

"Gee, what a dump," he commented, "Does every Rescue Team live like this?" he asked her, sporting a grin.

Flash frowned. "Can it, at least it's a complete shelter safe from rain and cold… for the most part," she muttered before her back was slapped hard by the hand of Forto. She stumbled forward because of the force, but managed to remain on her feet.

"Good to see you being optimistic!" he bellowed happily, "must be a part of the rescue team thingy, eh?" He then looked up at the darkening sky. "I'm sorry, but I gotta get back home. I need to help my brother with some stuff at home," he then said, bidding farewell as he left Flash with the Toolbox.

Flash quickly checked her paws to see that she hadn't accidentally pilfered Forto's belt or pants. If she had, the consequences would've been disastrous! Thankfully, she hadn't. She let off a sigh of relief and headed into her house.

"Hello Flash!" Loopy happily exclaimed from her bed. Flash dropped the Toolbox at the sight of her team mate in HER BED! She growled lowly as smoke fumed out of her ears.

"Loopy… that's my bed!" she grumbled, balling her paws into fists.

"But Francis me here put, and-"

"FRANCIS!" yelled Flash, gritting her teeth.

"But Francis no here," Loopy uttered quietly, "he leave paper." He pointed at a piece of paper that lay on the stone table not far from Flash's bed. Flash took a few breaths to regain her composure and approached the table, picking up the letter Francis had left her. It was written with very stylish letters

_To Miss Flash_

_I am sorry to inform you that I will not be present for the rest of this day and the day coming up. While fixing Loopy up, I got to hear sudden events concerning me. I had to make haste towards my former living quarters to sort important things out._

_I hope you can manage to take care of yourselves without my superior intellect. Although Loopy's tail should be fine in about three days, I believe, so refrain from straining him._

_Much regards_

_Francis of Bluntentooth IV Junior_

Flash put down the letter and sighed. "And here I planned to have a nice dinner… oh well, that means more for you and me, Loopy!" She skipped towards to another corner of her one room house, and stopped in front of a rock formation consisting of one big flat rock standing on to smaller ones, and a fire place under it.

She put the Toolbox down and picked out what she had bought at the Kecleon Shop. She had bought a few reddish berries that had small spikes on them, called Tamato berries, and some basic ingredients for some dough. "I'm going to make a special Tamato Pie with some Oran jam in it, Loopy. I bet you'll like it!" she chirped as she began baking. She lit the fireplace under the stone so it acted like an oven.

* * *

"Oh no…" Flash muttered as she put both her paws on her head as she stared her failure. The pie hadn't gotten a golden colour, but it had attained a blackish surface as it had been badly burnt. Blackish smoke still billowed out from the oven to the small hole that acted like a chimney. "Maybe I should've listened to Forto's advice not to add too much seasoning…"

Loopy carefully sat up on her hay bed. "But smell fine!" he noted helpfully.

Flash looked over her shoulder and sighed. She looked at the burnt pie and turned around to show it to Loopy. "Well… if you think it smells so good…" She though about throwing the pie at Loopy's face, but that would be a waste. "then you want to taste it?" she offered, putting the pie down on the round stone table.

Loopy got off her bed, and walked to the table to sit down on the smaller stones that resembled chairs. He tore of a piece of the black pie and stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed it with a happy smile and swallowed. "Be hard, but much taste!" he exclaimed. Flash looked at with her mouth slightly open, tilting her head. "What wrong?" he asked, not aware of the smoke billowing out of his ears.

"Uh, Loopy, you know what Tamato berries are, right?" she asked him, trying to repress a laughter.

Before Loopy answered, he tore out another piece of the pie, stuffing it into his mouth. "W'rrhut 'e Tshama bmerry?" he asked with his mouth full. He swallowed it all as quickly as he had with the first bite, and rubbed his tummy happily. It wasn't before he smiled widely with an open mouth he realized something was not right. "Why smokey from mouthy…" he asked himself as smoke billowed out from his mouth.

Loopy's eyes widened as his taste buds finally registered the extreme hot spiciness of the Tamato berries. "AAAGH!" he screamed out as it almost seemed that he breathed fire. He ran around the room like a headless Torchic as he left a smoke trail that exited from his mouth. "HOT HOT HOTTY!" he yelled.

Flash couldn't hold her laugh anymore and fell down on the floor laughing her until her sides ached. She literally rolled on the floor laughing at Loopy running around like a high-speed Koffing around the room. She finally stood up and grabbed a nearby bucket of water, and splashed it all over Loopy as he ran towards her.

That caused the Machop to stop in his tracks, and shaking off the water all over him. "Hot berry…" he wheezed.

"I'm sorry, Loopy, I should've warned you about this pie being spicy. I guess I was upset after I burned it." She tore out a slice from the pie and ate it. She first winced at the bitter and burnt taste, but then the hidden taste of the Oran jam and the Tamato flavour came and her smile widened at the wonderful taste. She licked her lips and took another slice.

"No burn Flash?" Loopy asked as he scratched his stuck out tongue, trying to make it burn less.

"I like spicy things, so I'm used to it," she quickly exclaimed. She walked over to the baking oven and gave Loopy a small jar with a bluish substance in it. "Here, some spare Oran jam to soothe your tongue," she said as she threw him the jar.

Loopy caught it and turned it upside down over his mouth, eating all the jam. Flash sighed and put the leftover of the pie into her storage. He then yawned. "Tired…" he muttered.

Flash looked at him. "Yeah, it's getting pretty late." She yawned herself and stretched her arms. "Get to bed, Loopy, I'll have one more thing to sort out before getting to bed." Before Loopy turned to get to bed, Flash added, "and your bed is over THERE!" She pointed at the dampish corner and Loopy walked slowly to there, laying down on the thinner pile of hay. He curled up and quickly fell asleep.

Before leaving, Flash took the nearby cloth and put it over Loopy's body like a blanket, and gave him a quick goodnight kiss. She froze right after.

"_What did I just do? I mean… he's so young… so I guess it was a motherly kiss," _she thought awkwardly before sneaking out of the shack. She had a certain Makuhita to speak about a certain Machoke's plan.


	31. New Day Fun!

_**Chapter XXXI: New day fun!**_

It was a quiet and peaceful morning when Flash woke up. She slowly sat up and smacked her lips, feeling that she had a bad breath this morning. This was a result of her being up late and telling Spathi about the Machoke Forto's plan with his beau. The consequences had been disastrous, to put it mildly. Even though she hadn't been present during Spathi's discovery of Forto and Jelza's funtime in the Dojo, she had heard the Makuhita's loud yell when she was on her way back.

She groaned and stretched her arms, hearing weak snapping sounds in her bones. She let out a sigh as she began to feel slightly refreshed after the stretch. Her eyelids began to feel heavy again, so she rubbed her eyes to keep them open. She cast a glance towards Loopy's bed to see if he was already awake, only to find him still sleeping. And sucking his thumb.

She smiled, finding the Machop's childish behaviour cute. She wondered how old he really was, which got her into thinking of his original whereabouts. She rested on her left side, propping her body slightly using her elbow. She started to think about what would happen if Loopy – or whatever his real name was – would get his memory back. What if he would have to leave her, and the Rescue team?

She sighed, and rolled over to her back, careful not to set the hay on fire. She thought about the goodnight kiss she had given Loopy last night. She had just acted like a mother, and if Loopy would leave her, she feared she'd feel empty. And even though she didn't think high of fighting types, seeing them as either muscleheads or bragrats, Loopy was slightly different.

She thought about her statement and shook her head. _"He's just as much as a showoff as the others!"_ she thought angrily, jumping out of her bed. She wobbled tiredly over to her storage and took out the leftovers of the burned Tamato pie, and put it onto the stone table. It was cold, but still edible. She tore out a small slice of the half round pie and gently put it in her mouth.

Her faced twisted with disgust as the cold bitter burnt substance spread inside her mouth while she chewed. She repressed the urge to spit it all out, since it'd cause a small mess on the floor. She forced herself to swallow and cringed. She put her paw to her stomach and felt nauseous; her stomach didn't approve her eating cold leftover pie. She took a few deep breaths, trying to make the nausea go away. She picked the pie up and put it on the oven like rocks, and carefully lit the fire.

She put her paw on the flat rock to feel the increasing warmth heating up on the rock, and positioned the pie at the warmest spot. As the pie was heating up slowly, she heard Loopy move in his bed. Looking over her shoulder, she saw him sitting up on his hay bed, rubbing both his eyes. He then rubbed his thumb on the hay, drying the saliva off of it.

"Morning Flash!" he exclaimed tiredly, but happily.

She smiled at the happy greeting from Loopy. "Good morning to you too, Loopy. How's the tail?"

Loopy carefully touched the base of his tail, wincing slightly. "Fine, feel ouchy, but worry no. Me strong!" he burst out proudly, flexing his arms. He stood tall and put his hands on his hips.

Flash glanced at him and imagined how it would look like if she splattered the leftover pie all over his face. She looked back at the pie, and checked if it was warm enough. It was, and she removed it after putting the fire underneath out, putting the leftover pie onto the dining stone table. "Want some breakfast? It's the pie from yesterday," she offered.

The Machop skipped towards the table and sat down on the stone chair, ripping out a piece of the pie. He quickly chewed the pie and swallowed it, rubbing his tummy afterwards. "Taste fine! But no hot, good!" he chirped.

Flash reluctantly took a slice of the warmed pie and carefully put it in her mouth, chewing it slowly. It tasted better, and even though the Tamato berries had lost some of their spiciness, the Oran tastes were still there. The two quickly finished up the pie, and Loopy leaned back in his chair, forgetting that it didn't have a back support, which caused him to fall back first towards the floor. Flash exploded in laughter.

"AAUUAAH!" Loopy yelled at the moment he hit the floor. Flash laugh faded instantly, and realized that the Machop had landed on his tail first. She quickly jumped off her chair and ran over to Loopy.

"Loopy!" she cried, holding her paw out to help him stand up, "are you okay?"

Loopy grabbed her claw and she pulled him to a stand. He rubbed the base of his tail, groaning. "Tail weak… me weak…" He sighed, slapping Flash's paw away lightly. He walked towards his bed to sleep, but Flash stopped him.

"Hey, Loopy, look," she said softly, putting her paw on his shoulder, "lighten up, will ya? Are you going to be this whiny during the fighting tournament too?"

At this, Loopy lightened up. "Spathi's Fight Out!" he exclaimed, spinning around and punched the air, narrowly missing Flash.

"Hey!"

Loopy stepped back to avoid a retaliation from Flash. "Sorry… too exit, exited, exci-"

"Excited," Flash corrected him.

Loopy smiled widely, but then became a little insecure again. "But tail, weak be," he then mumbled.

Flash sighed and slapped Loopy's upper back. "So? Pulling tails is something Pokémon don't do! Especially not fighting types! And you shouldn't even think about even _touching_ my tail, because if you do…" She slowly clenched her paw to a fist, "I'll tickle you until you die."

Loopy stepped back again at the word 'tickle' and 'die'. Flash softened up slightly and added:

"Hey, I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to get a point through. You can hug me all you want, but if you even get the idea of grabbing my tail like that douchebag Wolfgang did yesterday…" She growled loudly. Seeing Loopy fidgeting, she drew a sigh. "Oh well, let's head to the dojo so I can register you into the tournament."

Loopy instantly grinned. "Yay! Fun!" he burst out happily. Flash grinned back and they left their house.

* * *

As they were on their way to the town, Loopy looked at Flash. "What be human?" he suddenly asked her.

Flash froze in her tracks. "Why'd you want to know that?" she quickly asked back. Loopy stopped and thought for a while.

"Have odd dream," he just replied, trailing off slightly as he stared up at the sky.

Flash crossed her arms, frowning. "From what I've heard, they're tall creatures, kinda looking like you, but less muscles and no tail. For their size, they're pretty pathetic when it comes to battling," she told him.

"Be human bad?" he asked curiously.

"Yes!" Flash snapped, "They like to have as much control over everything they can! They like taking Pokémon from their families and using them for battling for their own entertainment." She snorted out a short puff of smoke, feeling angered about the subject. "What was the dream about? Did you have a nightmare?"

Loopy looked slightly away. "No know," he answered quietly.

"You dreamt that you were captured, didn't you?" Flash asked, putting her paw on his shoulder, "Don't worry, there aren't any of those _monsters_ in this region, so you're safe."

Loopy said nothing, and the two resumed their walk towards the town.

* * *

"Ah, hello, Charmander!" greeted the Makuhita Spathi with a wave when he noticed the two members of Team Brawl.

Flash waved back. "Hiya, Spathi, you found out what happened during the night?"

The Makuhita's experession darkened, as if he wanted to rip the door to the dojo out and rip it to shreds. "Horrible, horrible things. Those two… intercourse in my Dojo… " His fist was clenched so hard that he could crushed a diamond, it seemed. His usual cheery face was twisted with fury, almost as if he was trying to execute the Scary Face move. "How… how dare they? How will I be able to clean up the dojo without getting memories of THEM in that room?" he roared, gritting his teeth. His face had reddened, and Flash stepped back in case Spathi would snap at her for actually telling him about that event.

"What be in te cours?" Loopy asked, grinning at the Makuhita's anger. The bigger fighting type shot the Machop a deadly and murderous glare.

"I'll tell you when you're older, Loopy," Flash quickly blurted before the Makuhita had any chance of replying. She looked back at Spathi. "So… they weren't just kissing, where they?" she asked him.

"NO, THEY WEREN'T!" Spathi exploded at her, his yell so powerful it caused her to fall back. He took some breaths to try regaining his composure, but failed. "The less I talk about it, the better!"

Even though Flash was lying on her back, her jaw dropped. _"They did THAT? Oh, man, if Forto finds out I told Spathi, he'll kill me!"_

"But of course, that Machoke got what was coming for him, and he's out of the tournament, and permanently banned from my dojo!" He twitched a little, and was able to calm down slightly.

"Poor Fo-" Loopy was about to say before Flash sprang up and put her paw over his mouth to silence him.

She looked back at the twitching Makuhita. "So, is there a place for Loopy in the tournament?" she asked, trying to get Spathi to think about something else.

The Makuhita brightened up. "Of course! Since that... you know who… did what he did, he's disqualified, and he won't get his money back, your friend Loopy can enter for free. The expenses are already covered anyway."

Flash approached the owner of the dojo and gestured him to come closer to her. "Can you make it so he faces that Tyke first?" she whispered. He looked at her and nodded.

"I'll try. And, kid, good luck," he said before he entered his dojo.

Flash looked on as the Makuhita left, and then at Loopy. "So, you're in the tournament now, so you wanna train?" she asked him. To her surprise, Loopy actually shook his head. "What?"

"Francis say me no hard work too," he explained. "Can hurt tail," he added. Seeing Flash's exasperated grimace, he pointed toward the Post Office. "But try find adventure? Easy?" he suggested.

Flash crossed her arms and snorted. "Okay, but let's try to find an easy one, so you won't harm your tail. You need to be in shape for the tournament," she muttered. Loopy nodded, and they walked off towards the Pelipper Post Office.

On the way there, they met the trio of a Totodile, Magby and a Pichu. They recognized each other fairly quickly.

"Dieter!" Loopy greeted happily with a wave when he saw the Totodile with his grey bandana over his left eye.

The Totodile's eye widened and he huffed, seeming offended. "It be Captain Dieter the Dreaded for you, landlubbar, says I!" he barked hoarsely. His two team mates, the Magby and Pichu, sighed.

"Captain, ease up," the Pichu squeaked. Dieter turned and stared angrily at the small electric type.

Flash stepped forward, eyeing the Totodile. "Don't say the bulletin is cleaned out of rescues…"

Dieter laughed. "Thar is nothing to be wary, lass! Thar ar plenty of offers this day!" he bellowed proudly. When Flash tried to walk away, he stopped her. "But, lass, have ye found those ravaging thieves who pilfered arr mailboxes?" he asked her.

Flash looked at the slightly taller water type. "Yes, a team made up of failure megalomaniacs named Team Meanies…"

Dieter bellowed and unsheathed a wooden sabre out of seemingly nowhere. "I'll cut those scoundrels throat faster than a Scyther!" He swung the sabre that he had probably carved himself. Flash sweat dropped, and so did the members of Team Juvens.

Loopy stomped forward and shoved Dieter, ripping the sabre from his hands. "Mean buggys! No talk!" he snarled.

When the Totodile was about to lash out at Loopy, Flash stepped in between to stop them. "Hey, calm down, both of you! We've just had trouble in the Sinister Woods, so no more mention of those bugs!" she told Dieter, pointing at Loopy's bandaged tail. She poked Loopy's stomach. "Hand him over his toy, Loopy, or I'll tickle you," she ordered. The Machop handed over the wooden sabre to the Totodile.

"Avast!" exclaimed Dieter as he swung his sabre, "yar be unfortunate! Every mission seems to be located close to those woods!"

Flash's eyes widened as she gulped. "Aw… nuts. We can't exactly go to the woods because of a special reason." She looked over at Loopy. "Well, I guess we better go home then." The Machop sighed and nodded, following his friend home. It looked like they had to spend a day of doing mostly nothing, except that Loopy could use some boulder to train his arms.

"Wait!"

Flash and Loopy spun around at the Pichu's voice.

"Our mission is in Thunderwave Cave," the small electric mouse said, "wanna accompany us in it?"

"Blistering Blastoise!" barked Dieter, "ask yar leader first before letting other join! Arr!" He raised his sabre and the Pichu yelped. The Magby stepped forward.

"They're equally ranked, Cap'n," she told Dieter, "and if th'y can't do any missions, they could join our. After all, isn't this a pretty un'fficial-"

"ARR!" cried Dieter, swinging his wooden sabre, narrowly hitting the Magby's face, "desist on revealing our trail for the secret treasure!"

Flash stared at the trio again. "Treasure?" she asked, baffled. Dieter got angry looks from both Pichu and Magby. "Is this one of your pirate things again?"

The threesome of Team Juvens stepped back simultaneously and formed a discussing circle. After a few seconds of whispering, the Pichu walked up to Flash. "Well, uh, we heard a rumour about a hidden treasure in there, and while we can fight off the inhabitants of Thunderwave Cave without any problems, we'll have problems digging. So we thought your Machop friend would be a great help with his brute strength," the small Pokémon explained.

Flash rubbed her lower jaw thoughtfully. "Do you know _where_ the supposed treasure is hidden?" she asked.

Dieter proudly took out an old tattered piece of paper from his Toolbox. "This here be a map to the mythical treasure! We found it during our latest mission!"

Flash thought some more, and looked at Loopy. "What do you say, Loopy?" she asked him.

"Sound fun!" Loopy exclaimed, looking very excited. "Easy adventure!"

Flash nodded and looked back at Team Juvens. "How much do we get?"

"A quarter of the treasure's worth," Dieter announced firmly. Flash was about to object at the low share, but hesitated. There weren't any other missions they could take if all of them were in Sinister Woods. The last thing she wanted was becoming target of the Scyther swarm.

"Alright," agreed Flash, "but our stuff's at my home, so you go on ahead to the cave and wait for us, right? We'll be there in a flash."

"Har, har, funny lass," muttered Dieter before he and his team mates left.

Flash muttered silent curses about some wanna be pirates and stuff like that before turning to Loopy. "So, there's our adventure, to try finding a treasure! What do you think about that, Loopy?" she asked him. The Machop jumped with joy, clapping his hands. "I guess you like it, then. Come on, let's get back and plan the adventure!" she chirped happily as they both bolted towards their home to check the Toolbox so it had enough supplies.

* * *

A few hours later, Flash and Loopy were at the entrance of the Thunderwave Cave, and there they met Team Juvens, who had apparently set up a small camp while they had been waiting.

"Ye took time, landlubbars!" Dieter barked.

"We have names, Dieter," Flash spat back. "I'm Flash and that's Loopy."

Dieter curled up his lips in a snarl at first, but then pointed at the Pichu and Magby. "Yarr, that is Zapi and Inza," he introduced them. Zapi the Pichu and Inza the Magby waved at Flash and Loopy. "And let the treasure hunt commence!" he then barked as he pointed his wooden sabre towards the entrance of the cave.


	32. Cave Adventure!

_**Chapter XXXII: Cave Adventure!**_

"This cave be notoriously silent, says I!" barked Dieter as he was taking the lead of the two Rescue teams that was walking through the Thunderwave Cave, much to Flash's irritation as she wanted to lead. But after Dieter had threatened to disband her and Loopy, and drench her with a Water Gun attack, so she had to comply. But luckily for Flash, they hadn't encountered any hostile inhabitants of the cave yet.

Flash was still curious about the treasure they were seeking in this cave. "So, Dieter, how did you get hold of that map?" she asked.

"Found it during a rescue. In a hidden passage I might add!" the Totodile exclaimed proudly before going back to studying the map carefully. Flash rolled her eyes. "This treasure's riches shall give us all endless wealth, yar!" he continued. "We shall be filthy rich!"

Dieter's two team mates sighed silently so their leader wouldn't take offence. Flash took notice of their exasperated looks, and tried not to grin. "You've been here before?" she asked the Magby Inza.

The other fire type nodded. "Yes, we had tr'ble with some Elekid punk d'ring a rescue. How 'bout you?"

"I was alone last time I was here. You know, when you saved me when-" She leaned closer to the Magby so Loopy wouldn't hear, "when you saved me from Loopy's rampage, he had to rest after being healed. And I figured a simple rescue wouldn't be much trouble, and I winded up against a whole pack of Poochyena."

Inza patted Flash's shoulder. "Y' shouldn't do rescues al'ne, it's very dangerous."

"Yeah, yeah, what do you know about it?" Flash snapped. Seeing Inza back away from her, she reached out to grab her by the scarf. "Hey, I didn't mean to be mean."

"…Kay…" Inza just replied.

"What girlies talk of?" Loopy asked, startling the two female fire types. Flash responded by poking his side, causing him to flinch.

"We were talking about you guys being nosey!" she snapped.

Loopy tilted his head. "What nosy be again?"

"Curious," Flash quickly answered. Loopy shrugged and got the hint, nearing Zapi and Dieter to leave Flash and Inza to talk while they walked.

"Did you really have to bring the sabre?" Zapi squeaked to Dieter with slight annoyance. "It's like you're not taking it serious!"

Dieter swung the wooden sabre over the Pichu's head. "It be me choice of weapon, says I!" he barked as Zapi gave off a frightened squeak.

Zapi checked if his ears were still there, and looked up at the Totodile. "No, your water attacks should be your choice of weapon," he piped. Dieter snorted and took his team's Toolbox off his shoulder.

"You wish to carry this, ye scurvy squeak?" he threatened as he held the heavy looking Toolbox in front of the Pichu. Zapi crossed his tiny arms and frowned.

"No, Captain…" he muttered lowly.

Curious of what they were talking, Loopy approached Dieter and Zapi. "What be capitan?" he asked.

Both Dieter and Zapi stopped dead in their tracks and slowly turned to look at the Machop. Loopy forced a grin as he awaited an answer from either of the two. Zapi put both his paws in front of his mouth in worry of how his leader would react, and Dieter's paws slowly clenched into fists as he narrowed his eyes.

"Blistering Baltoy and Thundering Tyranitar! Rascally scoundrel!" he blurted out, swinging his wooden sabre in front of Loopy's face a couple of times in a fit of rage. But Loopy just stood there and smiled as the tip of the wooden weapon swung by him.

"Why Dieter angry?" he asked.

The Totodile clenched his fist so hard that a faint crack could be heard. "It be CAPTAIN Dieter, landlubbar! And captain be the highest rank on the ship!" he yelled at Loopy. Seeing no reaction from Loopy whatsoever, Dieter pulled his arm back to strike Loopy with his wooden sabre. When he whacked it across Loopy's face, he found out that the attack had passed through Loopy's face. The miss caused him to stumble, and he realized he wasn't holding his sabre anymore. Dumbfounded, he stared at his paws, wondering where his weapon had gone.

"Dieter, if you don't calm down, I'll burn your little toy!" Flash threatened as she held his sword with both her paws.

Dieter waved his fisted paws at her. "It's Captain Dieter, you… pilfering… _harlot_!" he snarled, showing his rows of sharp teeth.

The flame on Flash's tail flared up as she almost popped a vein. "_WHAT?"_ she roared back, "What did you call me, you washed up faked pirate?" She slowly moved the sabre so it was above the flame of her tail. "Now you better apologize or say bye bye to your precious little sword, Dieter!" she threatened.

"No, please, no!" Dieter pleaded, clasping his paws together in a begging gesture. "Sorry, sorry, sorry!"

Flash's eyes narrowed as she looked at Dieter. "Say it like you mean it!" she demanded, still holding the blade over the fire. As the wooden exterior slowly started to blacken, Dieter seemed to get more nervous.

"I'm really sorry, please don't burn it! Pleeeaaase!" he begged, having sunken down to his knees. His voice wasn't as raspy as it had been a few seconds ago, and had now turned to a rather young voice instead.

Flash looked at the Totodile and sighed, tossing him the wooden sabre before it ignited. Dieter sprang up on his feet and dived towards the ground to catch the sabre before it hit the ground. Holding the wooden weapon firmly in his paws, he got to his feet and glared at Flash.

"Threatening to burn me possession, yar pilferer!" he snarled, having regained his attitude now that he had his sabre. Flash grumbled something about stupid water types. "I heard that! ARR! I shall-" he yelled as he raised his weapon, but this time someone grabbed him by the wrist, stopping his swing. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Loopy had his wrist in a firm grip.

"Capitan Dieter now calm be," Loopy told Dieter with a smile as he refused to let the Totodile's arm move. Dieter tried to bring down his arm, but Loopy's grip was almost vicelike. "No thing solve by fight," he then said. Flash gave a sarcastic cough at that remark. Dieter calmed down slightly, and Loopy let go of the Totodile's wrist.

Dieter backed away from both Loopy and Flash, looking at them both rather angrily. "Maybe we should exclude you from arr treasure hunt and tell you to go home! Har, har, har!" he growled with a raspy laugh, putting his sabre in his Toolbox. He gave them a smug smile as he adjusted his grey bandana so it still covered his left eye.

Flash walked up next to Loopy and put her paws on her hips. "Speaking of "we", where did Inza and Zapi go? Not much of a stable "Treasure hunting team" if your team mates stray off, Dieter!" she remarked, smirking slightly.

The news Flash revealed to Dieter distracted him during his adjusting of his bandana, accidentally tilting it the other way so it covered his right eye instead. "ARRRGH!" he yelled loudly, shaking his fist. "Cursing Corsola! My crew has committed mutiny! Arrr!" he barked.

Flash just stared at him, and then at Loopy. "I think I know why they sometimes leave him behind…" she whispered to Loopy.

The Machop looked at her with a quizzical look. "What be harolot?" he whispered back. Flash's eyes widened as she turned to stare right into his inquisitive eyes.

She pointed at him with a trembling claw. "Something… very… bad, Loopy! Never call me that!" she growled, trying to repress her anger. "It's a bad word!" she added, trying to remember that Loopy didn't have much knowledge of words new to him.

"INZA AND ZAPI!" Dieter yelled at the top of his lungs, "WHERE HAVE YE GONE, DESERTING, DASTARDLY TRAITAAARRRS! COME BACK NOW OR YE SHALL SWAB THE DECK TOMARRAW!" he screamed, fumes coming out of his ears. He coughed as his throat felt a little sore, and took a few seconds to regain his breath.

"_Great, just alert the whole damn cave, will you?"_ thought Flash angrily as she watched the Totodile regain his composure.

"Much scream hurt, Capitan Dieter, and scream not always bring friends back," he told the Totodile. Dieter just huffed, and glanced into the darker parts of the cave.

His angry stare, however, slowly melted into a worried one. He unclenched his fists as his distant stare into the cave remained. "They're not answering," he said lowly. He slowly turned towards Flash and Loopy. "They… they like sneaking away sometimes, but they usually respond to me calls," he told them lowly, fidgeting with his blue paws uneasily.

He stared back distantly into the darkness. "Hello?" he called weakly. Flash and Loopy both looked towards the same direction as Dieter, wondering why Inza and Zapi weren't coming back.

Flash took the initiative and started walking towards the darkness. "Come on, let's look for 'em," she suggested, knowing that standing there and waiting wouldn't make Dieter's two team mates to come back. She thought that the two had hid somewhere to play a prank on Dieter, seeing as they didn't answer, but even though it could be fun to prank Dieter, his outburst would've been enough evidence that he wasn't in a playing mood.

As they walked, Flash also wondered how Francis was doing, and if he was nearby, she could ask him if he had seen the two young Pokémon. She thought of the possibility that Inza and Zapi could've been attacked by some wild and territorial inhabitants of the cave, seeing how small they were. But she also knew they probably packed quite a punch.

"Ah, yer tail flame is very good for this mission, Flash!" Dieter barked as he looked around the lit area to see if he could spot any traces of his team mates. "I don't like when me mateys run off like this."

"Hush!" Flash snapped, clamping Dieter's jaw shut with both her paws. "I think I heard something scurry away just now… and I think I know who…" Her face expression darkened. She turned towards Loopy, who seemed confused of Flash's sudden reaction, and beckoned him to come towards her. "Alright, if I'm right about this, I think I know the assholes who could've taken Inza and Zapi. But we're heavily outnumbered, so we need to form a plan. So this is how we'll do it..."

* * *

Further into the cave, Inza and Zapi hugged each other with fear as they were surrounded by a large pack of Poochyena. The Pichu had a few scratch marks across his face, and the Magby had a minor scratch down her right arm. They had tried to fight off the pack, but had quickly realized that they were hopelessly outnumbered. Calling for Dieter and Team Brawl was also out of the question, since the pack was almost waiting for them to utter a cry of fright or fury.

Keeping the young Pichu (and her body heat so she wouldn't burn him) in her embrace, Inza scanned the circle of the surrounding Poochyena to find a gap wide enough to break through and escape. But Zapi had become stricken with panic, and was petrified with fear of being killed by the pack, and this had become a problem for Inza's plan to get Zapi and herself to safety. Even though she could manage to carry the petrified Pichu, it would slow her movements too much.

"Zapi," the Magby whispered, "try t' get a h'ld of y'rself. You sh'ldn't have run away b'cause Dieter got angry."

"Sc-sc-sc-sca-a-red…" Zapi just replied, staring fearfully at the pack. "Do-don't w-w-ant t-to b-b-e a P-poochyena ch-ch-che-wing toy," he stuttered, shivering uncontrollably. Inza patted his head to comfort him, and it helped just a little.

"D'n't worry, Zapi, P'chyena are 'sually wimpy, we'll m'ke it," she assured, and the Pichu shivered a little less.

A few of the Poochyena padded forward, their ears twitched at a word they had heard from Inza. "Who you calling wimpy, chew toy?" one of them barked, and the two other dark types snarling afterwards.

"Yeah!" another male yapped, showing off his sharp fangs, "Don't smart off when yer outnumbered!"

Inza regarded the bite Pokémon, and tried again to find a gap in the circle big enough to break through. She heard the two Poochyena who had talked approach her and Zapi. The Pichu let off a stuttering cry, but quieted down as Inza comforted him silently. The Magby then looked back at the Poochyena.

"R'l tough to surr'nd two, huh?" she spat at the dark types. The Poochyena let out a low chuckle, and approached furthermore. She looked at the two and could see that there was a gap behind them that they could break through if she could manage to knock those two Poochyena away. She got to her feet, pulling Zapi to his tiny feet with her, and was about to execute her plan.

The Poochyena became a little more alert when their prey got to their feet, but all of them remained at their places.

"Look, Z'pi, we're gonna m'ke a run for it, I take the l'ft one, and you the right," she whispered to Zapi. The Pichu nervously nodded, and the Magby let him go as she concentrated her stare at her target. She slowly raised her arms, as if preparing to unleash some Scratch attacks, and Zapi fidgeted with his tiny paws before trying to think of something to do with his target.

Inza quickly inhaled and spat out a volley of small variations of her Ember attacks towards the left Poochyena, scaring him enough to jump to the side. Zapi let out an electrical shock that missed the right one, but it startled him nevertheless. The Magby quickly grabbed Zapi's arm and kicked her feet of the ground as she started to run away from the pack, swiping at a nearby Poochyena who tried to stop her.

"CAP'N DIETER!" Inza yelled throughout the cave as she ran with her Pichu team mate. While she ran, she could hear the pack of Poochyena catch up with them, and she tugged Zapi's arm harder, to help him catch up with her.

But the chase ended quickly as the two small Pokémon had run into a dead end, with nothing but a rock wall in front of them. The chasing Poochyena slowed down their approached, knowing that their prey was cornered.

"Dang't, took a wrong t'rn," Inza muttered as she tried once again to calm the nervous Pichu down.

"Now, if you two could just accept defeat, and we'll make it easier for ya," the leader Poochyena suggested as he approached the cornered duo, knowing he and his pack had an upper hand. They all followed their leader and made sure this time that there weren't any possibilities of escape. Some of them licked their fangs with anticipation as they eyed their prey.

Zapi huddled closer to Inza and closed his eyes, snivelling. The Magby was getting tired of the Pichu's crying and gave him a light slap to get him back to his senses. The action failed miserably as Zapi started to cry openly instead. The Magby mumbled and looked back at the Poochyena, who were getting ready to jump them.

"Hey! What's with you ganging up on Pokémon, wimps?" cried a familiar voice from the depth of the cave.

Some of the Poochyena halted their advance, their ears flickering. One of them half opened his mouth in a grin, slowly turning to the direction of the voice. "I remember that cocky voice…" he mused, sniffing the air. He licked his fangs, "And that lovely scent too…" he added.

"I heard that, you creep!" Emerging out of the darkness was Flash, gritting her teeth after she had heard one of the Poochyena's remark. She regained her composure, not taking her eyes off the pack of Poochyena. "You all better make yourselves scarce, mutts, or I'm gonna set your furs ablaze!" she threatened, her tail flame flaring up so it lightened the cave up almost completely. Some of the Poochyena briefly covered their eyes with one of their front paws to shield them from the light.

The leader Poochyena turned his back towards Inza and Zapi and sent Flash an ice cold stare. "You have a lot of guts coming back here, and don't think your rat friend will save you this time, since none of my pack fellows won't fall for that again, right?" he barked.

One of the Poochyena looked at another one. "But she started it," he whined.

The female shot him a venomous glare. "No, you did, badbreath!" she snapped back.

"SHUT UP!" the leader barked, feeling slightly embarrassed at some of his fellow pack members. Drawing a short, irritated sigh, he turned back to Flash. "Anyway, you're not getting away easy this time, even though you had these li'l kids to save."

Flash smirked. "Well, while I haven't been here for a few days, you mutts might've figured out that I might have been training during my absence," she said confidently, ready to spit out an Ember or lash out with a Scratch if a Poochyena made a sudden move. She didn't take her stare off the Poochyena who were slowly starting to surround her. She rose up on her toes to see how many Poochyena were still guarding Inza and Zapi.

A Poochyena charged her when she lost focus of them, and pounced onto her. Flash reacted quickly enough to face the Poochyena coming right onto her. The moment the male Poochyena slammed his paws onto her shoulder, she tried parrying the attack by trying to stand tall and push the dark type away.

"Geroff!" she growled at the Poochyena.

Still trying to push her on her back, the Poochyena grinned. "Why? You feel as lovely as ever," he replied smugly, grinning.

She growled again and managed to quickly turn around, throwing the Poochyena off her. The dark type landed on his back, yelping, and Flash turned to face the pack. "I'm not playing around today, mutts, so do yourselves a big favour and get your stinky asses outta here!"

The leader's fur bristled lightly as he gave off a low, rumbling snarl. "You really wanna fight, lizardbreath?" he replied, taking a step towards her. Flash stood her ground, not at all concerned with the Poochyena behind her. The leader Poochyena flashed a toothy grin. "This'll be real fun…" he muttered, about to pounce onto Flash.

Flash took a deep breath, and knew she couldn't hold back anymore. "LOOPY! DIETER! NOW!" she yelled at the top of her lungs as she pounced towards the leader Poochyena, ready to scratch the dark type when she was in range. The leader Poochyena swiftly dodged and rammed into her side head first, knocking her off her feet.

Flash quickly tried to scramble to her feet, but was slammed down by the paws of the leader Poochyena. The canine scratched her face with one of his forepaws. "Stupid… well, I ain't gonna dawdle around with you this time, so-"

He didn't have time to finish before he was grabbed by the back of his neck and violently tossed away from her. Flash looked up and saw Loopy growling at the other Poochyena. She looked over her shoulder to see Dieter looming over the Poochyena who had pounced onto Flash before.

"Ye scourges of this cave dare kidnapping me mateys?" he growled, poking his wooden sabre at the frightened Poochyena.

"Meanie doggies let Zapi and Inza go!" Loopy barked, punching his fist into his palm to make a point. The dark types eyed the Machop warily, aware of their type disadvantage towards him. Some of the Poochyena looked at the Magby and Pichu, and quickly pounced on them before they could make a move.

The leader glowered at the Rescue Team members, especially at Loopy. "Make any move, and those little kiddies gets it," he threatened, rolling up his lips in a snarl as the Poochyena seizing Inza and Zapi bent down to get in position of quickly biting either of the two Pokémon. The Poochyena under Dieter's mercy saw his chance and bounded away from the Totodile, speeding towards his fellow Poochyena.

Both Inza and Zapi were making no move whatsoever, trying not to provoke the Poochyena ripping their throats out. Inza put one of her hands on the Pichu's arms to calm him down, which seemed to have an effect this time.

"I… I dun wanna die," squeaked Zapi, trying to get a grip on Inza's hand with his tiny paw. His frightened stare was fixated on the female Poochyena who was pinning him down. The female dark type smirked and neared her head towards Zapi's, giving a short lick on his cheek. The Pichu yelped, trying to squirm his way out of the Poochyena's grip. The female just snapped at him, causing him to stop struggling.

Flash growled. "Guys, I told you to free Inza and Zapi _first_ before you attempted to attack those mutts!"

Loopy turned around and looked at her. "But Flash trouble in be! Try help!" he argued, putting his hands on his hips.

"And I stopped the landlubbar trying to get ye from behind!" Dieter added, swinging his wooden sabre. His eyes then widened as he pointed at Loopy with his sabre. "Loopy, matey, behind ye!" he yelled.

Loopy didn't have time to run around before he felt an immense pain searing from his tail to his spine. "AAAAIIIIY!" he screamed shrilly at the moment the Poochyena who had bitten his tail tugged it so he fell back, twisting slightly so that he fell on his side. He desperately flailed with his feet with the hope of kicking the Poochyena so he would let his tail go.

Seeing Loopy in distress, Flash quickly spat an Ember towards the dark type who held Loopy down, and scored a hit on his face. The Poochyena yelped and let go of Loopy's tail. But Flash didn't have time to help Loopy as she was attacked from her side by another Poochyena, a female one. She tried to push her off, but the female Poochyena had already latched her jaws onto her right arm.

Flash grunted as she felt the hard teeth dig into her scales, but then the Poochyena let go of her arm when she was blasted by a Water Gun from Dieter. Unfortunately, Flash had been slightly hit by the water based attack, and it had hurt a lot.

"Damn it, Dieter!" she yelled at the Totodile as she scrambled to her feet, "watch your aim!"

Dieter shook a claw at her. "Be this the thanks I get from ye? Yaarrr!" he growled back, inhaling and blasting another Water Gun towards another Poochyena who tried attacking him.

Loopy had staggered to his feet and limped over to Flash. "Flash okay?" he asked her with concern, keeping a watchful eye over his shoulder in case a Poochyena would try to attack his tail again. Flash just snapped at him and told him to get those mutts. Frowning, Loopy turned around and raised his fists, staring down the dark types. "Meanie doggies fight weak. And wet doggies smell!" he finished, putting his hand over his nose.

The leader Poochyena narrowed his eyes at Loopy's remark, but then gave a sly smirk. "Well then, brute, have it your way," he uttered before he turned to the two Poochyena behind him who kept Zapi and Inza at bay. He gave them a nod, and the one holding the Pichu down promptly hit his left ear. Zapi let out a whining yell of pain.

But the Poochyena that was about to strike Inza wasn't aware of that she was more determined to fight back, especially if Zapi was put to harm. The moment he bent down to give her face a bite, he got a fully charged Ember fireball right into his mouth. The Poochyena swore loudly and jumped off the Magby to find a way to soothe his extreme pain inside his burned mouth. Two other Poochyena dashed off towards Inza to restrain her, but she had already sprung to her feet to fire off another Ember towards the Poochyena biting Zapi's ear.

Loopy kicked off the ground, running towards the distracted leader and picked him up by the neck before he knew what was going on. Holding the leader Poochyena high, he quickly used a Low Kick on an attacking Poochyena from his left. Flash ran in and slashed with her claws towards some Poochyena on Loopy's right, and Dieter charged past the two, heading for his own team mates.

Inza's assault on the Poochyena biting Zapi's ear had failed as she was struck down by the two other Poochyena who right after bit down onto her legs to prevent her from retaliating. Zapi was still crying of the pain in his ear as the Poochyena holding him tugged the ear mercilessly, dragging the Pichu with him a short distance for every tug. The Magby desperately tried to spat another Ember at the Poochyena holding her legs, but she was unable to angle it so the attack would hit.

Dieter broke through some Poochyena by snapping his huge jaws at them to scare them away. The ones who weren't as scared got blasted by a stream of water instead. However, when he was nearing his two team mates, he began hurrying too much and got tackled from behind by two Poochyena he had previously scared away. "Blistering Baltoy! Ye honourless backstabbAAARrrrs!" he roared as he was pinned down by the two Poochyena who put all their weight onto him to keep him down.

Loopy tightened his grip on the leader Poochyena, growling slightly. "Let friend go," he demanded lowly. The leader Poochyena just sent him a nonchalant stare. Flash utilized a Scratch attack on another Poochyena who tried to get Loopy from behind, but got her side rammed by a Poochyena she had failed to notice. She stumbled and fell to the ground, and instantly the Poochyena who had tackled her pounced at her, pushing his paws onto her arms to prevent her from scratching him.

With no one to watch his back, it didn't take long until a Poochyena managed to avoid a Low Kick from Loopy and ram his tail. The pain in his tail flared up and he dropped the leader Poochyena to the ground, trying to swat the other Poochyena who had managed to damage his tail. The dark type quickly dodged the attack, and the leader had an open shot on Loopy's exposed back. Grinning, the leader rammed the base of Loopy's tail with a Headbutt attack, inflicting enough pain to Loopy he didn't even let out a sound. He just dropped to his knees, and a Poochyena quickly pushed him down to the ground, accompanied with another Poochyena right after.

After glancing around quickly, the leader Poochyena smirked when he saw that all of the enemies were defeated. "Well, well, well." He padded over to Flash, and looked down at her as the Poochyena was keeping her to the ground. "We win." He could feel a pride swelling up inside him as his smile grew wider. He heard another squeak from Zapi and slowly turned towards where the Pichu was.

"When I get yer stinky hides off me, I shall keelhaul ye!" Dieter barked at the Poochyena holding him down. He struggled fiercely, refusing to let himself be defeated by the dark types. The Poochyena responded by either slamming their paws on the back of his head, or biting his tail, although that only made Dieter angrier.

The leader shot him a brief look of contempt, and moved onwards to Zapi. When he was before the wailing Pichu, he heard some of his fellow Poochyena cry out. Quickly turning around, he saw that Loopy had managed to kick off one of them, and was preventing the other one from biting his tail again.

"You just don't give you, do you, brute?" He sneered at the Machop's attempts to get up. Taking it for granted, he turned back to the Pichu, and gestured the Poochyena holding Zapi by the ear to let go. The leader gently put a paw on Zapi's cheek, smirking. "Now, I can't stand little pipsqueaks like you. So… you're the first one to go." He flashed his fangs and scratched the Pichu's cheek with a claw.

Zapi just stared fearfully into the Poochyena's eyes. He uttered some weak squeaks that didn't seem to have any meaning, and they only made the leader narrow his eyes with disgust. As the anvil of fright weighted down his senses, he could only watch the leader bend down to latch his jaws around his neck and probably snap it once and for all.

"N…n… noooOOOO!" yelled Zapi shrilly, discharging a powerful electric attack aimed at no one in particular. It was a powerful attack, and most of the electric energy struck the leader. The Poochyena was flung off the Pichu and knocked into the Poochyena pinning Dieter down.

The Totodile used the very moment to get up and ready himself for an attack. Even though he was slightly relieved that Zapi had at least done _something_ to defend himself, he was still furious with the Poochyena. As he saw the leader get up to his paws, he felt a rage building up inside him. "You… now the payback for hurting me mateys has come!" he burst out, baring his dangerous teeth at the leader who cowered back a little along with the two other Poochyena.

The leader sheepishly backed away from the enraged Totodile who was building up his Rage attack, and could see that the Machop had managed to throw off both Poochyena off him and was on his feet. "Crap!"

"Meanie doggie off Flash NOW!" Loopy yelled as he grabbed the Poochyena pinning Flash by the neck, tossing him slightly up to deliver a Karate Chop to his side. Striking hard, the dark type instantly fell unconscious, and Loopy helped Flash to her feet. He then ran up to Dieter and stood next to him, pumping his fists, ready to aid the Totodile's attack.

Dieter adjusted his white bandana so it still was over his left eye. With a move quicker than the eye could see, he dashed towards the Poochyena and delivered a powerful double-knuckled punch to the dark type, flooring him instantly. Dieter looked down at the defeated leader, and saw that most of the other Poochyena were retreating, leaving Inza and Zapi.

The two younger members of Team Juvens ran towards the Totodile and both gave him a hug, happy that they were all together and safe.

Flash just looked at the trio and shook her head. She noticed Loopy walking towards her with a proud smile on his lips. "No hugs, Loopy," she warned mildly, and Loopy gave off a disappointed sigh. She looked over towards Team Juvens, who hadn't finished their group hug. "Hey, let's get outta here… I can't stand looking at these mutts."

The members of Team Juvens glanced at her and finished the hug. Dieter stepped forward and picked up his wooden sabre. "Right, we all need a rest after this," he replied, sounding a little bit normal without the accent. Flash looked at him and gave a short nod, and they left the area, right after Flash had kicked on of the defeated Poochyena's side as she passed him. She was pretty sure that that was probably the last she'd see of them. But she also knew that this treasure hunt had turned out to be far more tedious than planned.


	33. You're kidding me!

_**Chapter XXXIII: You're kidding me!**_

The two teams had proceeded a fair distance throughout the Thunderwave Cave, although they were weakened after the fight against the Poochyena pack, they still needed to get as far away from the battlefield as possible to find a suitable place to get a deserving rest. Dieter was leading the group of five, with the Pichu Zapi waddling next to him. Zapi had had his grey bandana around his right ear tied around his left so it would soothe the aches he had in it.

The base of Loopy's tail wasn't hurting him anymore, but it was still a sensitive part of his body. But the bandages were still safely tied around the base of the tail. Francis had insisted yesterday that Loopy would have to wear it, so he couldn't take it off. He was smiling as he walked beside Flash, but he was forcing it, since he was still a little sore after his loss against the Poochyena pack.

"Can we rest yet?" Zapi spoke up lightly, looking up at Dieter.

The Totodile shook his head, tugging Zapi along with him as he kept walking. Zapi whined a little, becoming tired of all the walking.

"Dieter mean to Zapi," Loopy muttered lowly, but loud enough for the Totodile to hear. Dieter stopped and turned around, staring the taller Pokémon in the eyes angrily.

"Arr! Don't be speaking behind me back, Loopy!" he snapped back.

Loopy, not feeling to argue anymore with Dieter, just rolled his eyes. "Me sorry, forget Capitan Dieter be early strong…" he mumbled. The Totodile turned his back towards Loopy and resumed walking, dragging the tired Pichu with him.

After a long, silent walk through the cave, Dieter let go of Zapi's paw and held up his own. "We rest here," he declared, putting his Toolbox down. He then opened it and pulled out the map. "Accarrding to this map, arr fortune shall be onwards!" he said loudly to the rest of the Pokémon. Zapi sat down, exhausted, and so did Inza.

Loopy put down his and Flash's Toolbox and sat down next to it. Flash was the first to open the Toolbox and get an apple out of it. Sitting down against the rocky wall, she took a big bite out of her apple.

"That experience earlier really made me hungry," she muttered after swallowing with a satisfied smile.

"Mlush dro goomd at fught!" Loopy replied, talking with a mouthful of his apple he was almost about to finish.

Flash sent him an irritated glance. "Swallow the food before you speak, damnit!" she snapped back.

Loopy quickly swallowed the chewed bits with a loud gulp, causing Flash to roll her eyes, and then smiled. "Say that Flash do good at fight!" he then repeated his last statement. He looked at his half eaten apple, and shoved the rest of it in his mouth, gobbling it up quickly.

Flash shot him a disgusted look, wanting to slap him for his bad manners. But she hesitated, thinking that hitting him would cause him to choke on his apple. _"A valuable lesson though,"_ she thought, unable to hide the toothy grin that was widening on her face. She heard a cry from Team Juvens' side, and looked over to see Zapi on his feet, holding some small, light brown thing in his small paw.

"You brought us nothing but rusks, Captain?" he yelled, waving the hard biscuit in his hand. "They taste NOTHING and are too tough for me to chew!" He tossed the cracker at the Totodile with frustration and crossed his arms, huffing.

"ARR!" Dieter barked as the hardened piece of bread hit the side of his head. "Be ye insulting me finely baked rusks, matey?" He scowled at the Pichu as he bit down on his own rusk, which was no hard task for him thanks to his strong jaws and teeth that easily penetrated the tough surface of the rusk. Inza was gnawing on her rusk, trying to somehow ingest it.

"Cap'n, this 's hard to eat…" muttered the Magby, trying to split the bread in two. "Are th'y reall s'pposed to be this hard?"

Dieter swallowed his rusk before he grabbed his wooden sabre, swinging it wildly. "Yar! Harrdened food makes ye a harrdened pirate, says I!" he barked proudly, picking the rusk up that Zapi had thrown at him and shoved the cracker into Zapi's little paw. "Now, eat!" he ordered the Pichu. Zapi looked at the hardened bread with disgust, and looked over his shoulder to see Inza still trying to split her rusk in two.

"I give up…" muttered the Pichu, looking towards Flash and Loopy who were happily munching apples. Sighing, he walked over to Team Brawl. "Hey, can I have an apple?" he asked quietly, shrinking back a little as both Loopy and Flash cast him looks.

Flash put her paw into her Toolbox and pulled out a big, fresh-looking apple from it and tossed to Zapi. The Pichu dropped the rusk and quickly caught the apple with both paws, fumbling it slightly before getting a firm grip of it. "There ya go!" Flash uttered before taking another bite of her second apple. She noticed the dropped piece of bread. "What'sch zat un th' grownd?" she asked with a mouthful of her apple.

Zapi was about to reply when Loopy lightly slapped the back of Flash's head, causing her to cough and spit out everything on the ground.

"Now Flash talk when food in mouth!" he playfully scolded her. The Charmander gritted her teeth and tried to swipe at Loopy's face, but he caught her claw easily with one hand.

Zapi put down the apple and picked up the rusk he dropped. "This is what Dieter-"

"Captain!" Dieter roared at Zapi from behind, correcting him.

Zapi groaned. "Anyhow, this is what _Captain_ Dieter calls food. These inedible… 'rusks', he calls them!" he explained irritably, trying to crush the piece of hardened bread in his paw.

Loopy let go of Flash's paw and poked her playfully before looking at the Pichu. "Ruskie look tasty, can have?" he asked curiously while Flash angrily took another nibble of her apple.

Zapi rolled his eyes and tossed the rusk to Loopy, who eagerly caught it with both hands. "Sure," he replied, picking his apple up. He examined it thoroughly, checking its quality.

"Don't worry," Flash assured Zapi, "Loopy has his 'Apple picking sprees' sometimes and he usually manages to pick a lot of real good ones." She heard a loud crunch coming from Loopy's direction and turned her head to look at him. He had already bitten off half of the rusk and was happily chewing the other half in his mouth. She grimaced at the loud crunching he made as he chewed the rusk.

"Mmm, taste fine!" Loopy exclaimed jovially, licking his lips. He tossed the other half into his mouth, chewing the hardened bread with ease. "Have more?" he asked, rubbing his belly.

Zapi raised an eyebrow, and pointed with his tiny thumb over his shoulder towards the Totodile. "Captain Dieter could probably spare you a few more, he's the only one of us who can actually eat those things…" he muttered with a sigh. Loopy gave an appreciating nod before wandering over towards Dieter to ask for more of his rusks. The Pichu then turned his attention towards Inza, who had given up on her piece of bread and currently lay down on the rocky ground. "Hey, Inza, wanna share this apple with me?" he called over to her.

Inza sat straight up and jumped to her feet, rocketing towards Zapi to get her share of the apple.

Seeing this, Flash picked up another apple and tossed it to the running Magby, who eagerly caught it. "I have more than enough, so dig in, Inza," she said, grinning as the Magby was staring at the apple.

"Oh boy, oh boy!" the Pichu exclaimed eagerly, waddling over to Flash along with Inza and sat down next to her. "This gonna be good, Dieter forces us to eat those yucky rusks because he thinks they'll make us stronger." He looked over to see Dieter being busy talking with Loopy, who apparently was eating another one of his rusks.

"Yeah… he's a real pain s'metimes…" mumbled Inza, a little wary if Dieter would hear. She sat down next to Flash, taking a small bite of her apple.

Flash chuckled and put her paws behind the back of her head, resting against the wall. "Dieter's pretty demanding, eh?" she presumed. The two lesser members of Team Juvens nodded. "How do you manage to put up with him?" she proceeded to ask.

Both Inza and Zapi stopped eating their apples, and looked down towards the ground absentmindedly. "Well… he's…a little special, if you know what I mean," Zapi replied quietly, both his ears lowering a little.

Flash rolled her eyes, still keeping a grin plastered on her face. "Yeah, tell me about it. You've seen Loopy in action, so I'd say he's pretty… special in a way too."

Zapi forced himself to return the grin. "Uh, yeah, Dieter's pretty juvenile most of the time with his pirate obsession. Good thing he doesn't harm innocent civilians." He cast a nervous glance towards the Magby, who lightly shook her head towards him. "But when he's really at it, he sometimes put a scare on other meanies with his voice!" he added.

"Wh't about Loopy?" inquired Inza, "He doesn't seem pr'tty bright."

Flash sighed and stared at the ceiling. "Well… he doesn't remember who he is or what his name is, so I named him Loopy, and he's fine with that. But after knowing him for a week, I begin to think that he hasn't recovered any of his memory, and he seems to be happy with that." She glanced towards where Loopy and Dieter were, seeing the two chatting with each other enthusiastically. She assumed the subject was those rusks.

Pichu also looked towards Dieter and Loopy before taking another bite of his apple. "They seem to get along just fine." He scratched his ear a little, and noticed something. "Where's my bandana?"

Flash knew what was coming, and glanced towards her paws, seeing that she held Zapi's bandana on her left paw. "It's here…" she muttered before tossing the bandana to the Pichu.

Zapi caught it and quickly tied it around his healthy ear. "How do you do that?" he asked, a little angry that he had had his team bandana stolen from him.

Flash couldn't hold back an autonomous snarl coming from her lips as she looked away from the small electric mouse. "It just happens… but somehow I can take things without Pokémon noticing." She looked back towards Loopy and Dieter, and then tried to change the subject. "So, uh, why did you form a team with Dieter?"

Zapi looked at her, reluctant whether to accept the change of subject or not. "Well, he wanted to form a team that would help stop 'Nefarious evildoers' across the region," he explained, seeing Flash roll her eyes.

"We f'rst though he was s'me crazy lunatic," Inza pointed out, keeping her voice low in case Dieter would hear. "You know, he kept s'ying that he was… err…" She paused, looking nervously at Zapi who was glaring at her. "That he w's a pirate, at that age, r'lly!" she finished.

Flash just shrugged, having not paid any attention to Inza's nervousness. "Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of, I mean, look at Loopy. Trying to interpret what he says can get really hard at times…" She sighed again.

"So, why did _you_ form a Rescue Team with him?" Zapi then asked, looking at Flash curiously.

The Charmander grumbled. "Well… you know, because we felt for it," she hastily replied, frowning.

"Hey, tell us, Flash, we told you about us and Dieter!" complained Zapi.

Flash snorted out a puff of smoke through her nostrils, and crossed her arms. "Alright… we needed money… or, well… I needed money." She glanced towards Loopy slightly, seeing him still chatting with Dieter. "And, well, he's helping me with it. That and… I might be able to find Loopy's parents or at least find out where he lived…"

Inza tilted her head slightly. "Need m'ney for what?" she asked curiously after swallowing a small nibble of her apple.

Flash sent her a frustrated look. "I'm in debt to someone, okay?" she hastily shot back at the Magby. "And don't tell me that I'm using Loopy, because I give him a place to sleep, _and_ I at least try to find his old home!" she added, crossing her arms and turning slightly away from Inza. She looked towards Loopy and saw him holding the wooden sabre away from Dieter's reach.

"Arr! Give me sabre back, matey!" he barked at Loopy, trying to grab the wooden sabre from the taller Machop's hands. Loopy just grinned and waved the sabre over the water type's head. Dieter growled and shot out a burst of water towards the fighting type's face. Loopy was caught off guard and was knocked on his back by the attack. Dieter then jumped on top of Loopy's chest and snatched the wooden sabre back from him.

Flash sweatdropped at the two's antics and looked back towards Inza and Zapi. The two young Pokémon looked at each other, having finished their apples, and stood up.

"Thanks for the apple, Flash," they both said simultaneously. They both looked at each other, astonished of that they had spoken at the same time.

Flash just rolled her eyes as she stood up, picking up her Toolbox. "Don't mention it," she replied as she hung the Toolbox over her shoulder. It was a little lighter after having taken out some apples, but it was still a little bit heavy.

"Flash help want with boxy?" Loopy asked her with a smile. The Charmander frowned slightly and readjusted the strap a little so it was more comfortable on her shoulder. Loopy shrugged. "Dieter ruskies taste good, maybe ask for more after adventure?" he mused.

Team Juvens were getting their things together too, with Dieter being the one carrying the Toolbox, and Inza and Zapi checking so that they had all their stuff with them. The Totodile stretched his arms, being slightly tired after the rest and then took out the treasure map from his team's Toolbox. After studying it shortly, he pointed towards a direction.

"According to the map, the treasure lies onwards!" he barked before he headed towards the direction he had pointed towards. His two team mates quickly followed, and so did Flash and Loopy.

As the two teams walked deeper into the cave, they didn't encounter any hostile habitants. Inza and Zapi had gotten a quick scolding from Dieter not to stray off this time, and Loopy had taken over the duty of carrying Team Brawl's Toolbox. They didn't have to worry about not seeing, thanks to Flash's tail flame, and it also slightly aided the search for the treasure.

With Dieter on the lead, followed by his team mates, they marched on. Flash began to wonder if there really was a treasure in this cave. What if someone else had found it? Wouldn't the inhabitants already have found it? She sighed and put a paw on her forehead as she kept walking. She tried keeping her tail flame bright so it helped lighting the area ahead, but it was slowly becoming tiresome for her.

"Damnit, Dieter! This stupid trip is taking forever! Are you even sure that the map's real?" she groaned.

The Totodile came to a sudden stop, causing both Inza and Zapi to bump into his back. He spun around to face the Charmander with a shocked look on his face. "This map be of genuine material, lass!" he barked, holding the old tattered map in front of Flash.

Flash just frowned and swiftly swiped the piece of paper from Dieter's claws. She quickly darted behind Loopy for protection as the Totodile cried out angrily at her. "Really? Then tell me _where_ on this map we are now?" she shot back at him.

Dieter growled and snatched the map back from Flash's claws and studied it thoroughly. "We ARR located here!" he then barked out, pointing at a part of the map.

"I swear… if you two keep ripping that map outta each of your hands, it's going to get ripped apart," Zapi muttered with a sigh. Inza just shrugged, shaking her head.

Flash walked out from her hiding place behind Loopy and looked at where Dieter was pointing. "So, according to where you are pointing, this 'mythical treasure' that will make us…" She let off a sarcastic cough, "filthy rich as you say, would be just straight ahead, right?"

Dieter didn't reply right away. He glanced briefly at the Charmander, and then back at the map. "O-of course!" he exclaimed jovially before he resumed to march towards the direction Flash had suggested. "Onwards, I say!" he added, beckoning his team mates to follow.

Flash grumbled and put her paw on her forehead. She felt someone grab her wrist and pull her towards where Dieter had left. It was Loopy. "Let go, Loopy, I can walk myself," she muttered as she slapped Loopy's hand away from her wrist.

Loopy tilted his head inquisitively as she started walking from him. "Why Flash angry?" he asked her, walking after her with a curious smile on his face.

"I'm not angry, I'm frustrated," she quickly replied, not looking at Loopy.

Loopy gave off a short hum, and raised an eyebrow. "What be furstur… frustra?"

"I'm fed up and tired of this treasure hunt! I think that map is bogus and that we're wasting our time here!" she snapped back at him. She looked ahead and saw that Dieter was glancing back at her angrily.

"Flash want sleep? Or want me carry Flash?" Loopy suggested hopefully, inching closer to her as they walked.

Flash turned back to Loopy only to be scared how close he was to her. "No, I'm fine! Just don't bother me!"

Loopy distanced himself from her a little and gave a short sigh, wondering what he had done wrong now. He readjusted the leather strap on the Toolbox so it was more comfortable on his shoulder, and walked on. He briefly looked at Flash to see her looking slightly down towards the ground, muttering lowly to herself. Taking it for granted that she didn't want to talk with him right now, he hastened up his pace so he could catch up with Dieter.

The Totodile's eyes were glued at the map as he led the group of five. "It is not far now, mateys!" he exclaimed excitedly as he slowly looked up from the map. A wide, toothy grin was plastered across his face as he quickened his determined pace. "For so long, this treasure is finally going to be ours! And what shall lie beyond will be nothing but the greatest-"

"Dead end…" Flash finished coldly, slowly clenching her paws. The room was beginning to light up more as her tail flame flared up with anger. "I don't believe it! How could I have been so _damn stupid_, to believe you that there was some kind of a-" She coughed sarcastically. "-treasure in this cave?"

"But the map, it is not lying!" Dieter objected. He jumped away from an Ember fireball coming from Flash's direction.

"You dumbass, pirate poser! It's a fake, damnit!" she yelled, stomping her foot on the ground in anger. Loopy walked up to her to calm her down, but she just flailed her arms about, causing him to back away. "I had to put up with those fleabag Poochyena for _THIS_? Did you buy it from someone or WHAT?" she yelled, spewing fireball after fireball in various directions.

Inza stepped forward, dodging a fireball coming her way. "Hey, c'lm down now! W' found it in Sinister Woods yesterd'y!" she yelled back, irritated by Flash's tantrum.

"Thar be no way I misread the map!" protested Dieter, waving the piece of paper in front of Flash's face.

The Charmander promptly snatched the map from Dieter's claws, crumbling it a little under her grasp. "Really? Then let me have a look then!" she quipped back, straightening out the paper in her paws. She narrowed her eyes a little. "Hmm, it still seems a little dark around here… Let's light this up!" she exclaimed before she spat an Ember fireball at the map.

The moment the paper ignited, a jet of ice cold water headed towards the irate Charmander. Not only was the ignited map instantly extinguished, but the Water Gun attack struck Flash's chest as well. Flash yelled out as she was knocked back by the painful and super effective attack.

"Arr!" Dieter barked as he ran towards the charred, soaked piece of paper that was the remains of the map. "Ye dastardly CharmandARR! Now ye have ruined the treasure map!" He tried to make something out of the useless piece of paper, but realized a few seconds that it was pointless.

"That fricking HURT!" Flash yelled back at the Totodile. She clutched her stomach, feeling the searing cold from the water having seemingly gone through her scales. When she was about to get up from her sitting position, Loopy ran up to her and offered a helping hand. She took it and he pulled her to a stand.

Loopy quickly turned to face Dieter after having helped Flash up, and glared at him. "Why Dieter mean to Flash? Flash no like water!" he shouted at the water type.

"But she ruined the map!" squeaked Zapi, stepping up in front of his team leader. "How are we gonna find the treasure now?"

Flash lowered her arms and stared at the Pichu with disbelief. "Oh… you got to be kidding me. You _still _believe that map is real?" She pointed at the dead end ahead. "See that wall? It's _solid!_ Loopy, why don't you check it, maybe then that Totodile might realize the map's a fake or just some made up crap!"

Loopy looked slightly at Flash, taking his glare away from the upset Totodile. "Flash want me check wall?" he asked timidly, scratching his head.

Flash clenched her paws and snarled. "Yes! Check if it's solid!" she snapped. Seeing the Machop look at her inquisitively, she sighed in frustration. "What don't you understand now?"

"…what be soldi?"

Flash just stared at the Machop, saying nothing as he smiled nervously at her. She slowly put her index and thumb claw on her forehead, sighing with frustration and exasperation. "Solid is something that you can touch… now GET OVER THERE AND CHECK THAT!"

Loopy flinched at Flash's outburst and turned around to walk towards the wall behind Dieter. When he passed the Totodile, he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and lightly poked Dieter's side. "Dieter solid!" he stated with a weak smile.

The Totodile frowned and bit the air in front of Loopy's face. "ARR! Dastarrdly Machop!" he barked, swinging his sabre at Loopy. Loopy just leaned back and avoided the swing. Dieter muttered curses at the Machop as he walked towards the wall.

"Don't try anything, Dumbass-Dieter!" Flash snapped. "You should know that he can tie your arms up if you'd anger him too much."

Dieter huffed and adjusted his bandana slightly. "Hold ye tongue, lass, I snap him in half with me jaws," he countered, snapping the air with his powerful jaws to make a point.

"Cap'n," the Magby inserted, trying to get his attention, "we act'lly almost got defeat'd by him a few days ago." Zapi nodded in agreement of her statement.

"Bah!" the Totodile uttered, "we were unprepared! Now we have more infarrmation about the lad!"

Flash just put her paw to her forehead, shaking her head. "Mew damnit..." she muttered. "Alright, I've had it with this! Loopy, we're going home!" she decided, calling for Loopy to come with her as she turned to leave Team Juvens. As she was beginning to storm off, she noticed that Loopy wasn't coming with her. "Loopy, you come with me right now or…" She wheeled around to stare at the Machop, but realized he was nowhere to be seen.

"…Loopy?" she uttered with sudden confusion. The other rescue team looked at her with a confused expression as well.

"Err… Flash, matey, Loopy is over the-" Dieter paused as he looked where Loopy had last been seen and saw nothing but the rock wall just ahead.

Zapi scratched his big ears. "Ya think he's gone into hide?" he assumed helpfully.

Flash looked at the Pichu as if he was joking. "There's nowhere to hide in here, and why would he hide anyway?" she replied matter-of-factly.

The Totodile was about to make a statement when they both heard a cry coming from the other side of the wall. It sounded a little bit distant, but they all pinpointed the cry coming from the wall Loopy was going to check.

"Help! Wall eat me!" All of the team members sweatdropped simultaneously when they identified the voice as Loopy's.

Flash was the first one to approach the wall and put a paw on it, confirming that it was real and not transparent as she had slightly suspected. Although she began to wonder how he had ended up on the other side. "Loopy, walls don't eat Pokémon…" she then stated with a sigh, "how'd you get in there anyway?"

"Uhm, wall turn and I fall in fast!" the Machop quickly replied.

"Ya-har! So thar is a secret entrance!" concluded the Totodile excitedly, swinging his sabre towards the wall. "Maybe the treasure rests in that secret room! Yar!"

"Can it, moron…" Flash muttered as she tried to find the trigger or whatever that made Loopy get to the other side.

"Hurry! Is dark and me no see!" Loopy yelped, punching the wall from the other side.

Flash groaned, and tried to find something that would make the wall turn or anything. Soon enough, she could spot a small rock that seemed slightly out of place near the wall. She tried pushing it, but it didn't budge, and tried pulling it. "Ugh, guys, I need help over here, I think I found the switch," she said to the other rescue team. The other three approached her and all grabbed a hold of the small rock-like object. "Damn, it won't budge!" she complained.

"ARR!" barked Dieter as he punched the rock, nothing happening. "This wily switch is broken!" he claimed.

"M'ybe we try giving it a h'rd push at the count of three?" Inza suggested.

Flash looked slightly at the Magby, and then nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. Alright, everyone, at the count of three, we all give this rock-switch a powerful push upwards!"

"One…" Zapi started, making sure he had a firm hold under the switch.

"Two…" Dieter continued, unable to hide his greedy, toothy grin at the thought of the wealthy treasure that would be at the other side of the wall.

"THREE!" they all yelled in unison as the used all of their strength simultaneously to push the switch upwards. Almost instantly, the wall turned and everyone fell in through the hidden passage. Mixed screams of astonishment and pain filled the new room temporarily as the rolled inside to a stop.

The Totodile was the first to sit up. "Arr… this be mysterious place, why else is thar soft cushions here?" he muttered, rubbing his head.

"Cushions?" Zapi asked, a little startled after the fall. He had managed to land on Flash's back, and was staring at her tail flame.

"Dieter land on me…" Loopy grumbled as he rose to his feet, throwing the Totodile off him in the process. He then walked towards Flash and lifted the Pichu off her back. "Odd extra wall room no dark now," he said as he helped Flash to her feet.

The Charmander dusted herself off and looked around the now lit up room. The ceiling seems rather high in comparison of the small room, but as she then scanned the ground, she couldn't find any valuable things. She let out a sigh of disappointment.

"I w'nder why there's a room like this here?" Inza mused, scanning the room as well.

"To trap unsuspecting Pokémon, I think," the Pichu squeaked lightly, almost already convinced the room had no exit apart from the entrance that had closed again.

Flash approached the sealed entrance at the mention of those words and searched for a possible lever or something that would open the secret entrance. "Uh, I think we're trapped. I can't see any kind of… wait, what's that?" she mused when she saw a thin crack in the wall. She peeked inside and saw a smallish lever that could be the key of opening the entrance. Problem was that it was too thin for her arm to go through, and the switch seemed to be too far it as well.

"Flash find thing?" Loopy asked, standing right behind the Charmander. Flash cried out with astonishment as she spun around to stare Loopy directly in his eyes.

"Don't scare me like that!" she yelled at him, shoving him lightly. She regretted her outburst when she saw him flinch away. "I'm thinking of how to reach the switch so we can get out of here."

"But Flash have-" Loopy started, but was interrupted by the Charmander.

"Shut up! Dieter, can I borrow your toy sabre?" she yelled over to the Totodile.

Dieter was at the other side of the room, having found another crack in the wall. He furiously turned his attention towards Flash. "ARR! It be no toy, lass!" he barked, swinging his sabre. "This fine weapon is the only one of its kind!"

"Can it and hand it over!" Flash snapped, not intent on waiting. "And with all that barking coming from you, one could mistake you for a Growlithe," she added with a smug grin.

The Totodile snarled at her remark, but clutched harder onto the sabre. "Nevar!" he announced loudly. "I has found another use for it!" He poked his sabre into the crack he was standing by, trying to see if he could pull something out.

_**Clack!**_

Every occupant in the room froze at the loud, echoing sound that came from the crack Dieter had been fiddling with. Another hidden door opened up in the room they were trapped in. They all stared into the new opening, and slowly approached it to see where it would lead them. However, Dieter hurried to get inside first.

"Avast!" he shouted, "this secret lair may be the place!" He darted inside the opening, letting off an excited cry. "Arr! Charmander lassy!" he called from the dark room, "I need light in here!"

Flash clenched her paws into fists, cursing silently as she walked into the room Dieter had dashed into. She flared up the flame in the tip of her tail to light up the new room as much as possible. The other Pokémon followed closely. As the room was lit up, the Totodile began searching it for any traces of something worth anything.

"Dieter run around in room funny," Loopy remarked as he scratched his head with confusion.

Flash hushed the Machop, although she couldn't hold back a slight grin. "He's searching for this treasure, remember?" she reminded him quietly. "But I just thought of something else, and that was-"

"AVAST, landlubbars!" Dieter roared loudly with triumph in his voice. "It has been found!"

The Charmander put her paw to her forehead, sighing. _"I swear, someone needs to shut him up…"_ she thought bitterly as she walked up to the excited Totodile. What she saw, was a big surprise for her. Upon seeing a large, wooden chest, she stood there with her jaw dropped.

"You found it, Cap'n!" Inza and Zapi cheered, high-pawing each other.

Dieter looked over his shoulder, showing off a triumphant, smug grin as he eyed Flash. "Where's yer doubt now, yar arrogant Charmander?" he questioned, pointing his sabre at her. She just crossed her arms and looked away.

"Hmph, do you know what's in there?" she asked back. Dieter huffed back at her, and walked towards the treasure chest to pull it out from the spot it was in. However, it was a bit too heavy for him.

Loopy walked up to the Totodile and poked his shoulder. "Need help?" he asked happily. Dieter grumbled, but stepped aside. Loopy rubbed his hands and grabbed a hold of one of the handles of the treasure chest, and pulled it out roughly from the spot it was in. "Box heavy," he said after he had pulled it to the centre of the room.

This caught Flash's attention. "Heavy, you say? Then there might be something-"

"Hold it right thar, lassy!" Dieter interrupted with a threatening voice. "Get yer filthy paws off me booty!"

Flash backed away from the Totodile, bumping into Loopy. "Hey, Loopy and I'd get a fourth of the treasure, right?" she shot back.

Dieter frowned, and swung his sabre before he turned his back towards her. "Arr! Ye shall have nothing! Calling me things, soiling me honour! No treasure for ye scurvy dogs!" he declared as he began to open the chest. It was locked, and even though the chest was old looking, Dieter was unable to open it. "Ugh… Dastarrdly chest!" He kicked the chest with frustration, but hurt his foot in the process.

"Captain! You can't open it?" Zapi asked quietly as he watched the Totodile jumping on one foot, holding the pained one in his hands. "M-maybe we should ask them to open it. Loopy is kinda strong, after all," he told the Totodile.

Dieter let off a frustrated sigh, throwing up his arms. "Hurr… fine! Loopy, open that chest, so we can get a look at the booty!" he grumbled, looking away from the chest.

The Machop smiled, and walked up the chest. He studied it thoroughly, and with a well placed underhand Karate Chop, he violently opened the wooden box. "Fun!" he exclaimed with a laugh.

Flash tried to hide a smile, and approached the treasure box. Her eyes widened at the sight of the masses of gold coins in it. "Wooow…" she said with awe as she gawked at the money. "This is a lot…"

Dieter quickly turned around and ran up next to Flash to get a glimpse of the chest. "Roaring Rhydon! This here… the legendary treasure of Pepper Paul Popcorn!" he cried out, his eyes showing off reflections of the glittering gold coins. Inza and Zapi looked at each other, sweat dropping at their team leader's antics.

"Cap'n," Inza spoke up, "We should g't out of this cave and split the pr'fits at our base," she suggested. The Totodile shot her a look of approval, and looked at the two members of Team Brawl.

"Mateys, today has been a great day! Will ye accompany us to arr base to split the booty?" he requested.

Flash crossed her arms, eyeing Dieter suspiciously. "Alright… but don't try to rip us off, or Loopy will make you regret it," she said back.

Dieter's grin faltered a little, but gave a quick nod before he held up his rescue team badge. Flash did the same, and the all teleported out of the Thunderwave Cave, taking the treasure chest with them.


	34. We're done already?

_**Chapter XXXIV: We're done already?**_

Flash stared with awe at Team Juvens' base, where they had all been teleported to from Thunderwave Cave. It was located by a beach, which she judged by the white, sandy ground, and by the sound of the waves coming from the west. But what was the most eye catching thing was a large, wooden ship that had been stranded on the beach. Flash guessed the ship was the house of the three members of Team Juvens where they lived.

The sound of Poké clinking snapped her out from her awe at the Team Juvens base and looked towards where the sound had come from. She saw Dieter going through the vast amount of coins in the large treasure chest they had found in the Thunderwave Cave. She approached the Totodile, wanting to take a look at the riches as well.

"How much is there?" she asked him, looking over the bluish shoulder of the water type.

Dieter quickly spun around and swung his sabre, narrowly missing Flash. "ARR! Keep ye pilfARRing paws off the treasure!" he growled, "I be counting the riches for us to split!" He turned back to the chest and continued going through the coins.

Flash frowned and stuck her tongue out towards Dieter while he had his back faced towards her. She looked towards the shipwreck and saw that Loopy came out of it along with Zapi.

"Juven base fine be!" he exclaimed, slapping the Pichu's back playfully. As usual, he wasn't aware of his strength and promptly knocked the Pichu to the sandy ground face first. "Me sorry!" he quickly apologized as he helped Zapi to his tiny feet. He then quickly backed away when the small electric type began to spark with electricity.

"Are ya trying to knock my back out of me?" he yelled at the Machop, clenching his tiny paws. His electricity ceased to crackle as he began rubbing his eyes. "Aw man, I got sand in my eyes too. Thanks, Loopy!" he grumbled sarcastically.

Loopy scratched his head. "Um, Zapi come-wel?" he asked, not sure of what to say. The Pichu huffed at him, still trying to get the rest of the sand out of his eyes.

The Magby approached Zapi to give some assistance, but the Pichu waved her off. Inza then turned to Loopy. "Y'always forg't about your strength, don't you?"

Loopy looked slightly down at the ground. "Yes. Forget sometimes," he admitted.

"What _don't_ you forget?" remarked Flash, eyeing Dieter suspiciously in case he would try to stash away some of the money from the treasure chest. She quickly checked her claws so she hadn't accidentally pilfered anything from the chest, and let out a sigh of relief when she saw that she hadn't. She wondered when the Totodile would be finished counting all that money. There was a lot of it, after all.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a pair of arms suddenly embraced themselves around Flash's chest. "Me forget Flash no hug like!" Loopy shouted joyfully, picking Flash up.

"Loopy!" cried Flash with frustration as she struggled helplessly to get out of Loopy's firm hug. He had hugged her from behind and had her arms locked to her sides, hindering any tickle attempts from her. "Put me down! You're embarrassing me!" She tried to break free once more, but failed.

Loopy snickered, and spun around once with her in his grasp. "Hmm... Flash softy," he said, pressing his cheek to Flash's shoulder with a smile.

The Charmander's eyes widened as her whole body stiffened. "Loopy," she said lowly, "Put. Me. Down. _Now,_" she ordered through gritting teeth. She was clenching both her clawed paws, and she had a murderous glare in her eyes. She tried not to flare up the flame on the tip of her tail, as it would give Loopy a serious burn. But at the same time, it would teach him a lesson

Loopy let go of the Charmander and watched her faceplant the sand. "Flash angry?" he asked innocently.

Flash sprang to her feet and faced Loopy, her face burning red of either fury or embarrassment. "YES!" she yelled back at him, spitting a small Ember fireball at the ground near Loopy. The fireball quickly dissipated into nothing after leaving a small black scorch mark on the sand. She shook a clenched paw at him, growling.

"Flash very angry..." Loopy stated as his shoulders dropped down. "Only want have fun."

Flash continued to glare at him, and noticed how both Inza and Zapi were snickering at her and Loopy. "Hey! You two, what's funny about this?" she growled at them, causing them to back away a few steps.

"Well, uh, you see, the look on your face, you know?" Zapi blurted before he hid behind the Magby to avoid the repercussion Flash would give him.

Flash stomped towards the Magby to shove her away and yell at the Pichu. "Move, I'm going to-" She was interrupted by someone tugging her arm from behind. Knowing it was Loopy she quickly spun around and gave the Machop a hard slap across his cheek. "LET GO, DAMNIT!" she yelled at his face.

Loopy flinched and backed away from the furious Charmander. "No fight, we done with adventure," he said meekly, wiping an upcoming tear from his eye.

"You're a bit of an asshole, you know that?" Zapi remarked, still hiding behind Inza's back. He whimpered when Flash furiously turned around to face him.

"ARR!" yelled Dieter, trying to get the Pokémon's attention, "The booty has been counted!"

Flash glanced slightly at Zapi and snarled lightly towards him before she fully turned to Dieter. "...How much is there then?" she asked with a slight growl in her voice.

Dieter put the flat of his sabre to the side of his head and rubbed it up and down. "Well, err, about fifty thousand Poké or so, I believe," he concluded with a thoughtful look in his eyes. All of the Pokémon besides Dieter and Loopy dropped their jaws.

There was an awkward silence as the three shocked Pokémon blinked a few times.

"Fi-fifty thousand?" Flash repeated.

Dieter struck a pose, pointing his sabre at the sky. "YARR! That is the amount!" he claimed. "Imagine all the valuable supplies we can afford with that!"

Flash smirked and rubbed her paws. "And Loopy and I'll get twenty thousand, right?" she said eagerly.

The Totodile sent her an offended glare and swung his sabre. "NO! Ye be counting wrong, says I!" he barked. "It be twelve thousand and five hundred Poké! Hand me ye Toolbox!"

Flash rolled her eyes and snatched her team's Toolbox and tossed it to the Totodile. Dieter caught it with both hands, almost toppling over of the weight. She grinned slightly before she looked back at Inza and Zapi. The Pichu was still hiding behind the Magby. She gave him a quick warning growl while Dieter began filling the Toolbox's money compartment with the Poké.

When Dieter finished splitting the cash, Flash gestured to Loopy to pick the Toolbox up. "Loopy, pick it up. We're going home," she said simply.

Loopy sniffled and crossed his arms, not moving from his position.

Noticing that Loopy wasn't going to get the Toolbox, Flash slowly turned to look at him. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw his defiant look in his eyes. "Loopy!" she tried scolding him, "g-get the Toolbox, it's too heavy for me to carry!"

The fighting type slowly uncrossed his arms and walked towards the Toolbox. He turned his back to her as he reached for the strap and effortlessly lifted the leather box. He gave his happy, childish smile to Dieter and waved goodbye to him, and then turned around to leave with Flash. "Treasure hunt fun be, Dieter!"

Flash tried to force a smile when she heard his happy voice, but lost the will to do so when she saw him scowl at her right after. Sighing, she followed the Machop back to their base.

The walk to Flash's house had been painfully silent, with Loopy saying nothing at all or even taking the time to look at her. She had tried starting a conversation with him, but he had refused to give her a reply. Sometimes she had tried to seek eye contact with him, and he had only sent her another scowl before looking away. It was then she wondered if it was such a good idea to snap like that at him before.

Upon reaching their base, Flash realized that with all the money she had gotten from the recent mission with Team Juvens, she would have enough to pay off all her debts. And that itself would mean only one thing. She drew a silent sigh at that realization and wondered what she'd do after that, and what would she do about Loopy.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a heavy thud coming from the Toolbox being dropped. She turned to the direction and saw that Loopy had put it down. She fidgeted with her claws a little before she carefully approached him. She hesitated slightly when she could spot a tension in his fists as he clenched them.

"Loopy... we gotta talk... about earlier," she told him quietly.

Loopy's mouth opened slightly, but he didn't speak, yet his frown still remained. He then swallowed once. "What? Flash steal big woody box?" he muttered.

Flash didn't reply right away, and wasn't sure if Loopy was joking with her or not. After a quick reasoning with herself, she guessed that it was the latter. "I... I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier..." she first tried apologizing, "But you don't have to embarrass me like that, you know?"

Loopy looked away slightly, and crossed his arms. "Angry I say Flash soft be?" he asked back, drawing a sigh afterwards.

Flash gulped, and tried to repress the blush that was starting to show in her cheeks. "Y-yeah... you didn't have to do that!" she snapped, but at the same time regretting that she had just raised her voice. "Sorry, Loopy... it's just that... I was mean, right?"

Loopy nodded. "Flash mean, yes," he confirmed for her. "Me no like yelling."

"I'm sorry, Loopy, I really am!" Flash pleaded, "I just thought you'd stop hug me for the moment, that's all. I was too harsh, okay? Please forgive me!"

Loopy looked at her, his eyes showing a slight sign of forgiveness, but also of slyness. "Hmm... me forgive... if Flash give hug."

Flash felt her muscles tense up as she tried not to glare at Loopy. "Well, only if you don't hug hard," she replied back suspiciously. Loopy didn't answer, but put both his hands behind his head, stretching his arms slightly. She was reluctant to walk up to him and hug him right away. "I… I don't want to do it out here. C-can we do it inside instead?" she offered.

Loopy tilted his head slightly, his scowl forming into a curious stare. "Why?" he asked her, his voice having softened up slightly.

"Yeah, so others won't see and get the wrong idea," she hastily replied. She stepped back towards the entrance of her house. "Please?"

Loopy sighed, and put his hands behind his back. "Kay-O..." he mumbled, accepting her request. He picked up the Toolbox and followed Flash as walked into the house.

Once inside, Flash did a quick check to see if there was anyone inside. She didn't want to get caught by anyone hugging Loopy herself, especially not Don. She shuddered at the thought how he would react if he saw Loopy and her hugging. After finishing checking, she walked up to Loopy. She could see the anticipation in his eyes as he waited for her to give him the hug.

She then took a deep breath and embraced her arms around Loopy's chest, putting her clawed paws on his back softly. Loopy smiled a little and wrapped his arms around Flash, hugging her back softly. Flash sighed through her nostrils as she rested her side of her head against Loopy's chest. _"How long is he going to want to hug?"_ she wondered, tensing slightly when she felt Loopy move one of his hands up to rest it against the back of her head.

"Flash warm," Loopy said quietly as he rubbed his other hand on Flash's back up and down slowly.

Flash would've grinned, but she began to feel uncomfortable with the feeling that this hug from Loopy was reminding her too much of the hugs she would get from Don. "I'm a Charmander, silly," she just said back to him, turning her head and resting her other side of it against the Machop's chest.

Loopy smiled and wanted to pick her up, but decided not to. "Me Flash like!" he exclaimed happily, tightening the hug just a little bit.

Flash's eyes widened with chock. "Whoa, whoa!" she blurted as she let go of him and backed off. "If you're going at what I think you are, then don't! I'm not your type, Loopy." Seeing his astonished stare as she had let him go, she added: "I mean, no kissing and such, right?"

Loopy tilted his head slightly. "What be kissing?" he asked her, full of curiosity. He had gotten a little happier after the hug.

Flash was at a temporary loss at words, trying to come up with an explanation without having to show him what a kiss was. "Well, it's a little hard to explain," she said, hoping that he would accept that explanation.

"Will Flash show?" he kindly asked, putting both his hands behind his back with a curious smile on his face. He then gave her a confused look when he saw her face becoming a deep red. "Why Flash red? Flash angry?"

Flash put both her paws to cover her blushing face. _"Aw man..."_ She didn't say anything right away to him; she was waiting for her blush to go away. When she felt that her embarrassment had gone over, she removed her paws from her face. "I'm not angry... Maybe I can show you a kiss later, okay?" she finally said.

Loopy nodded. "Is fine! Flash is forgive. So what now do?" he then asked her.

Flash let out a silent sigh of relief, and smiled. "Well, remember the money I had to pay back? Well, we're going to town and paying it back, and then there's the fighting tournament!" she told him, feeling a little excited of the events to come.

Loopy raised his arms with excitement. "Fun!" he exclaimed happily with a childish laugh. "And then adventure after tourney?"

This caused Flash to fall silent and look slightly away from Loopy. _"Oh yeah... if I repay the entire debt, there's no more point of having the Rescue Team anymore. What Loopy say about that? What's he going to do? I don't think I'll be able to look after him for the rest of his amnesia period. I REALLY hope someone at the fighting tournament recognizes him..."_ she thought worriedly. She wasn't sure if he'd accept that she would just disband Team Brawl like that. She could convince him to join Team Juvens instead; Dieter and he seemed to get along nicely.

"Flash silent? Something matter?" Loopy asked, snapping Flash out of her thoughts.

Flash glanced briefly at Loopy. "Nothing, really," she replied. She walked to the corner of the shack and checked the wooden floor. She searched the specific plank that was loose, and when she found it, she lifted it to reveal a small hole under the floor. She reached down and pulled up a small metal box from the hole and put it on the floor.

"What that?" Loopy asked, having snuck up to her from behind and was looking over her shoulder.

"My secret stuff," she replied, trying not to yell at him for sneaking up on her. He opened her metal box and searched it clean of Poké. She picked out a few coins that were visible at first, but she had to lift up some papers that hid most of the coins. She sighed as she looked at the papers, recognizing them as former love letters from Don. She picked up one of them and read it

"Ah, Flash search money!" Loopy concluded, picking up the coins that Flash had tossed out from her metal box. "Kangkhan and Persi happy be when pay," he added as he sat down in front of the coins, piling them up.

Flash didn't really listen; she was reading through the letter that the Charmeleon once had sent her in the past. Sighing again, she put the letter back into the box, and closed it. "...How much is there?" she asked him absentmindedly, still thinking of the letters.

"Um... me no know..." Loopy answered, scratching the back of his neck.

Flash rolled her eyes and sat down next to Loopy. "Let me count them..." She raised an eyescale when she saw that Loopy had sorted them by size, and the larger they were the more they were worth. She sorted them in piles consisting of two hundred fifty Poké in each small pile. When she had sorted out the money, creating six piles, she yelped when Loopy had suddenly put his arm over her shoulder, pulling her closer to him in a cuddle.

"Hey!" she yelled. "You had your hug!"

"But feel good when Flash close!" Loopy protested, refusing to let go.

Flash's eyes widened. "Oh, that's IT!" she yelled as she used her free claws to tickle Loopy's side.

Loopy yelped, letting go of Flash and trying to get away from her tickling claws. "No tickle!" he pleaded.

But Flash wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily. "Never!" she cried back, laughing as she jumped to her feet and pounced on him, striking him so that his back hit the floor hard. "Now you're mine, Loopy!" she triumphantly roared as she used her claws to scratch Loopy's sides and belly.

"Stop tickle! Help!" Loopy yelled as he tried to defend himself against Flash's tickling claws. Every time he managed to grab hold of one of her paws, the other one would make its way to either his undefended side or belly. Trying to kick her off him was useless as well, as he couldn't reach her with his legs.

"Stop flailing with your arms, and I'll stop!" Flash negotiated as she poked Loopy's sides and stomach to keep him from grabbing her paws. She smirked as Loopy calmed down slightly, and she felt good having bested him once again thanks to his weakness to being tickled. When he stopped flailing with arms, Flash softly put both her paws on his chest. "I win," she smugly declared.

Loopy flinched slightly, afraid that Flash would give him a vicious tickle before she'd let him go. "Um, Flash go off?" he asked, his fingers twitching slightly.

Flash shook her head, moving her claws down to his sides, although the moment she would touch them, she let go, holding her claws very close in case Loopy would make a move. "No, I'm going to enjoy this, having defeated you again."

Loopy looked up into her blue, victorious eyes, seeing how she was gloating over her victory. He looked at where her clawed paws were, trying to calculate if he could push her off fast enough. He realized that she was sitting on him in a way that it would take too much force for him to push her off, and she would have the little time to tickle his side to stop him. He thought of something and quickly grabbed a hold of Flash's sides to tickle her there.

Flash's eyes widened as her feeling tensed the moment Loopy tickled her back. She cried and tried to tickle him back, but it was beginning to be too much for her. "Just you wait!" she managed to yell at him as she scratched his sides to stop him from tickling her.

Loopy laughed, trying not to stop tickling Flash. If he would stop, there'd be no way she'd let him go. He quickly moved his hands to her belly and tickled her there, and laughed even more when he heard she howled even higher at the tickling. "Flash tickly too!" he burst out, knocking away Flash's paw as they closed into his sides.

"Gaaah! Stooop!" she cried, trying to swat away his hands as well. But the Machop managed to tickle her at a very sensitive spot in the between of her belly and left side, causing her to move her arms up to defend herself. This allowed Loopy to grab Flash's side and push her off so that he could mount her.

"Now me win!" he declared as triumphantly as Flash had not long ago. He tickled her sides and belly, laughing happily.

"No, you don't!" Flash yelled back, quickly poking her claws into Loopy's sides, causing him to yelp and get of her. She quickly got to her feet and tackled him to the ground, tickling his sides and then turned around slightly so she could reach for his feet to add some variety. But doing so allowed him to retaliate with some tickling to her sides, thus turning the tables once more.

The two Pokémon laughed loudly as they rolled around the floor, tickling each other and wrestling to get the advantage over each other. And where Loopy had the strength, Flash compensated with her agility and pointy claws.

"I do not happen to interrupt anything, do I?" a familiar sophisticated voice inquired.

Both Flash and Loopy stopped tickling each other, and Flash, who was at the disadvantage with Loopy on top of her, pushed the fighting type off her while he was distracted. She looked towards where the voice had come from. "Francis!" she uttered, standing up and brushing the dirt off her.

"Indeed," confirmed the Rattata, tugging his whisker. "So this is what you have been occupied with during my absence."

Flash's cheeks turned into a burning red, and Loopy just tilted his head. "F-Francis! What the hell are you insinuating?" she growled, panting slightly after the struggle against Loopy.

The Rattata let go of his whisker, and put his paw on his chin. "Really… The moment I arrive I see you and Loopy rolling out of this… house so to say. I take it you had fun?"

Flash clenched her paws, wanting to burn Francis to a crisp. "No ideas from you, Francis! WE did a rescue earlier today!" she snarled.

"Flash be fun tickle!" Loopy said, "we fun treasure hunt have too!"

Francis snapped his attention towards Loopy. "Treasure hunt? May I take a guess that you got wound up with that Totodile with the buccaneer complex?" he guessed, rubbing his chin with a smirk on his face.

"There were no other offers!" protested Flash, "well… all of the other offers were in the Sinister Woods, and we know why we couldn't take any offers there."

Francis's smirk slowly turned into a solemn, although neutral expression. He gave a quick nod. "I understand. How was this… treasure hunt Loopy spoke of?"

Flash frown curled up to a cheeky grin. "Well… we did find something nice, and it netted us a lot of cash! And that means I can pay off the debt. In fact, Loopy and I are going to do that now." She walked inside the shack and scooped up the money she had piled up inside, and put them in the Toolbox.

Loopy approached Francis and sat down cross legged in front of him. "So what Francis done?" he asked curiously, wiping some sweat from his forehead.

The mouse Pokémon's whiskers slumped down along with his ears. "We are facing a few difficulties within our society, so to say. Leadership difficulties," he explained. Seeing Loopy's confused expression, Francis sighed. "Never mind. How is your tail healing?" he then asked, changing the subject.

Loopy patted his tail lightly. "Be fine… hurt little. Francis good do." He moved his had towards the base of the tail, squeezing it carefully. He felt a slight jolt of pain shot up, but it was nowhere as bad as it had the beginning of the day. "But next day, it be fight tourney!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Francis raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"Loopy! I need some help in here!" Flash shouted from inside the shack. "The Toolbox is too heavy because of all the money!"

Loopy rolled his eyes, smiling, and headed to Flash so he could pick up the Toolbox. He effortlessly swung the leather box over his shoulder, and checked so the strap wouldn't snap.

"It's great that we got the money now, I thought this would take forever," Flash said with relief. She turned to Francis, and got an uneasy feeling in her stomach. "Uh… Francis? Your fellow Rattata friends don't happen to have some cash stowaway in the Thunderwave Cave, do they?"

Francis let off a hearty laugh. "No, no, Miss Flash. If we would have a reserve of money, we would have marked it of course," he replied. "Was it a big treasure you found?" he proceeded to ask.

Flash scratched the back of her neck. "Well, uh, it was about fifty thousand or something."

Francis's whiskers and tail stiffened as he heard the amount. "My, that is a lot!" he choked, staring at Flash with slight disbelief. "What was that fight tourney Loopy was talking about?"

"Yeah… that Spathi's Fight-Out thing? Well, he's participating tomorrow, and hopefully someone there might recognize him," she replied, casting a quick glance towards Loopy.

"And why are you hoping that, Miss Flash?"

Flash looked back at the Rattata. "Well… you see…" She neared him and bent down to his ear level. "I'm thinking of disbanding the rescue team; I've raised enough money for my debt. It's just that I don't know how to explain to Loopy, since I'm not sure if I can have him living at my place anymore."

Francis took a step away from her and scowled. "What in the hell, Miss Flash?" he snarled, "so it was only to suit your own needs?" he continued, but was muffled by Flash's paw.

"Keep it down!" she hissed, "Maybe someone recognizes him tomorrow, then he can get to live with those he lived with before."

Francis twisted out of Flash's grasp. "And if not?" he asked her back, eyes narrowing.

Flash was silent, and saw that Loopy was walking towards her, probably wanting to leave right away. "…I'll think of something…" she mumbled back. Francis huffed and turned his back towards her.

"What Flash Francis talk of?" Loopy asked inquisitively. Francis looked at him, and then at Flash.

"About the Spathi's Fight-Out! You ready to train?" she told him, trying to liven him up a little. Francis just looked down and shook his head.

Loopy smiled widely and tossed the Toolbox high up with excitement. "Yay! Fight and train fun be!" he cheered, catching the Toolbox on its way down.

"Yeah… but first we visit Kangaskhan and perhaps Persian, alright?"

Loopy nodded and began walking toward the town square. Flash and Francis followed him closely.


	35. Well, not much left to do…?

_**Chapter XXXV: Well, not much left to do…?**_

"La de da de dum dai bum," Loopy warbled as he led his team mates to the town.

Flash smiled at his childish innocence while she walked next to Francis, who eyed her every now and then. She knew what he was upset over, and a brief rush of guilt flowed through her conscience. "Stop giving me that look," she told him lowly.

"Why not?" he promptly shot back, "is it not obvious enough for you to notice that I do not like the idea of you disbanding the rescue team the very moment you acquire enough money for you debt?"

Flash said nothing, and looked at the warbling Machop as he happily strolled down the path towards the town square. "I'll think of something, " she then said, not looking at Francis, "I won't just dump him, you know."

"Good," Francis shortly replied before he picked up the pace so he could catch up with Loopy. Flash hastened up her pace as well.

"Kangkhan much happy today be, when get money," Loopy sang slightly out of tune. He took the Toolbox with both hands and tossed it high up. "Wheee!"

"Loopy, it might not be a good idea to play with that now," Francis sternly suggested as he watched the Toolbox flip in the air .

Loopy just laughed jollily and held up his hands to catch the Toolbox on its way down. The moment the leather box landed on his hands, he knelt down slightly due to the weight. "Little heavy!"

Flash put her paw on her forehead and grinned. "Really? You think you'll do well in the tournament?" she told him.

Loopy hung the leather strap across his shoulder before looking at Flash. "Will try, and fun be," he chirped.

Francis raised an eyebrow. "A useful advice would be to keep a look out for the tail of yours, just in case," he advised, "Although you should not be too defensive about your tail, as you opponent might notice your weakness."

"Francis go blah blah blah," Loopy teased, earning an offended gasp from the Rattata. "Me strong, so worry no!"

The Charmander stifled a snicker at Francis's ramblings of how Loopy could just waive him off like that. She looked up ahead and saw the town square. "Hey, stop nagging, you two! The town's just ahead!" she notified them, and they quieted down a little.

As Team Brawl entered the town, they were met with its usual bustle with different rescue teams heading towards the bulleting board by the Pelipper Post Office, and other heading out of the town to get their jobs done. However, they did notice the Makuhita Dojo in the southern part of the town having more activity than usual.

"Let's check it out first, there seems to be a queue at Kangaskhan's storage anyway," she suggested, "And we could drop Loopy off there so he can train too!"

Loopy turned towards Flash and looked down at her with a smile. "Sound good! I train for tourney!" he exclaimed happily. Francis just rolled his eyes.

"I would rather take the opportunity to get in line here, so that when you are done leaving Loopy at that dojo, we will have to wait less to finish your business with Mrs Kangaskhan," he suggested as he headed towards the queue. Flash and Loopy shrugged at the Rattata's suggestion and headed towards the dojo.

As they neared the Makuhita Dojo, they heard that most of the Pokémon were upset about something, and was yelling towards the Pokémon at the entrance. Most of them seemed to be rescue teams, and others were some other fighting types.

"Calm down, everyone!" the familiar voice of Spathi called loudly. "The dojo is closed for everyone _but_ the participants of the Spathi's Fight-Out. We need the rest of the day to prepare for the tournament tomorrow." The Makuhita was met with angry shouts, and had to duck to avoid a tomato being flung at him. "Hey, stop that! It's just for _two days_ per month! Is that too much to ask for?" he continued.

The threesome approached the large crowd surrounding the dojo entrance, trying to get past them so Loopy could get inside the dojo. They had to force their way through the agitated crowd, hearing some rescue teams ranting about how they really needed this particular day for training for a specific mission, and some fighting types being frustrated by not being able to train and get stronger.

Forcing her way through the crowd wasn't easy. Flash tried to hasten up the progress by trying to shove more Pokémon out of the way, but an irate Nidoking shoved her back, sending her right toward Jolteon. She yelled out when the electric Pokémon's spiky fur almost penetrated her scales, but the Jolteon just hissed back at her.

"Watch where you're going!" the electric type hissed, her voice indicating she was female.

Flash rubbed her stung parts of her body as she glared back at the Jolteon. "Well, piss off, spikeface!" she snapped back. The electric type narrowed her black eyes at Flash as she took a threatening step towards her.

Seeing this, Loopy quickly stepped up in front of Flash, facing the angered Jolteon. "No fight, big spikey!" he exclaimed. The yellow quadruped bared her teeth as small jolts of electricity sparked on her spiky fur. Loopy yelped and promptly hid behind Flash.

Seeing the Machop hide behind Flash, the Jolteon's snarl turned into a smug grin. "Wimpy boyfriend you got," she remarked. Some of the complaining Pokémon in the crowd had noticed the quarrel between Flash and the Jolteon.

Flash gritted her teeth as she heard some of the Pokémon snicker at the Jolteon's remark. "Shut up and let me through!" she growled as she tried to force her way past the electric type.

The Jolteon raised a paw and pushed Flash back with it. "Why the rush? Don't say that _he_ is participating in that brute tournament?"

"What's it to you?" Flash promptly snapped back, still feeling Loopy huddling her from behind.

The Jolteon grinned smugly as she tried to get eye contact with the frightened Machop. Loopy shied away from her, forcing Flash in front of him. "Well, it might be worth the wait of seeing this little runt perform during that tournament, though I doubt he'll even pass the first round," she sneered.

A large, purple, clawed paw forced the Jolteon away from Flash and Loopy. "Hey, now," the Nidoking said, eyeing the electric type. "Just leave them be." The Jolteon looked up at the towering Pokémon, and huffed. Looking away from him, she distanced herself from Flash and Loopy, allowing them to pass through.

Flash kept a keen eye on the Jolteon so she wouldn't shoot a small bolt of electricity behind her back. The Jolteon huffed and felt that she had seen enough of those two and left the Dojo area. "She'd need a good Earthquake sometime soon," she muttered under her breath.

When they managed to break through the crown that was slowly dispersing after Spathi had gone inside his Dojo during Flash's quarrel with that Jolteon, they approached the door and knocked on it.

It didn't even take one second before the irate Makuhita slammed the door open. "I SAID IT'S JUST TWO DAYS IN-" Spathi burst out at Flash and Loopy, causing them to fall back by the sudden force of the bellow. He had stopped in mid sentence as he recognized the two Pokémon. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Oh, it's you two."

Flash sat up and rubbed her sides of her head. "Ooh…. My hearing," she whined.

"Sorry about that," Spathi apologized, "the monthly complaints from the ones not participating take a lot out of me." Casting a look at Loopy, who had stood up fully and was picking his ears, he gave a warm smile. "I take it he'll train for the rest of the day?"

"Yeah," Flash replied, "that's possible, right?"

The Makuhita let off a loud, hearty laugh. "Of course it is! He's a participant; almost every participant is training hard before the tournament, so why isn't he training right now?"

Loopy walked up and gave a goofy salute. "Me on mission be, have much train in cave!" he happily burst out.

"Ho, ho!" Spathi laughed again, "and I might have to explain some of the rules too!"

"Yeah, you'll be fine in there?" Flash asked him before she was going to take her leave. Loopy gave a quick nod and thumbs up. Grinning, Flash waved goodbye as the Machop went inside the Dojo with Spathi to train. She set off towards the Kangaskhan storage to see how far the queue line had shortened since they left Francis.

Hoping that Loopy would be okay, she casually walked the dirt path, struggling to stay straightened due to the weight of the Toolbox. But when that excessive weight would be taken off her shoulders, it would not just be the physical weight. Her lips curled up slightly in a smile, imagining the look of Kangaskhan's face when she'd finally be done with it all. Too bad Loopy wouldn't be there to watch.

When she arrived, the queue line had noticeable gotten longer. She felt relieved that Francis had stayed behind so that she would have to wait longer than necessary. She hesitated to give away a smug smile as she passed the line of queuing Pokémon.

"Hey, get in line, no cutting ahead!" a familiar Pokémon burst out as she extended one of her yellow forelimbs in front of Flash. The upset Pokémon frowned when she realized it was Flash. "Oh, you again," the Jolteon muttered as her eyes narrowed into slits.

Flash tried knocking the Jolteon's leg away from her path, but was met with a snarl. "Hey, I got a friend up ahead!" she told her, "So you can kiss my tail and shut up!" Flash reared back as the Jolteon let out a low growl at her.

"I'm not taking anymore sass from you, newt," she hissed, but then the same Nidoking from before put his clawed paw on the back of her neck. "Aw, come on!" she complained as she was tugged away from Flash.

The Nidoking sighed after he had pulled her back into the line. "Stop minding her. We have important matters to take care of," he muttered as he kept a firm hold of the back of her neck.

Flash huffed and turned her back to the Jolteon, raising her tail to add further insult. She saw Francis further ahead in the line, and it was just a few Pokémon before him. She grinned and was about to run up to him when she felt a very brief, yet strong, bolt of electricity strike her tail. The sudden shock caused her to jump with fright and she fell over upon landing.

"Whoops, I guess I let out a spark by mistake," she heard the Jolteon snicker.

Flash was about to lash out at the Jolteon, not caring if she'd get shocked so hard she'd be sent into a coma for the next week.

"Miss Flash, please make haste!" the voice of Francis shouted up ahead. "Lady Kangaskhan is waiting!"

Flash diverted her attention towards the front end of the line, seeing the Rattata waving at her. Knowing that Kangaskhan wouldn't want to wait for too long, she decided to ignore the Jolteon for now and sped up to Francis.

Kangaskhan frowned when she saw who the Rattata was accompanied with. "Oh, you again. Make this payment quick, it seems today is a busy day amongst rescue teams," she snorted, looming over the two small Pokémon.

Flash tossed the heavy toolbox onto the counter. "I got the money for the debt," she quickly interjected.

Kangaskhan stared at the toolbox, blinking once before she reached for it. She lifted it and checked its weight. "You've been busy, I see," she said, sensing there being a lot of money in the toolbox. "But I don't have the time right now, as you can see." She gestured towards the queue.

"Lady Kangaskhan," Francis greeted as he stepped forwards, bowing politely. "It has come to my knowledge that Miss Flash does indeed have enough Poké for the debt."

Kangaskhan cast a look at the Rattata. "And I take it that you are a newer member of the rescue team?" she assumed, showing a faint smile on her face.

"Why, yes, Madame," Francis replied, "Francis of Bluntentooth IV Junior, and it is a grand pleasure to meet you," he then introduced himself.

Kangaskhan's smile grew wider as she let off a slight blush. She then straightened herself up and tried to look proper. "Well, I am unfortunately unable to handle that errand today, but you could possibly visit the Felicity bank Persian runs and she might settle the debt for you," she suggested before looking at Flash. "But even though the debt will be settled to a degree, there's still the door."

"You still haven't fixed it?" Flash exclaimed.

Kangaskhan lightly banged one of her paws on the counter. "No! Business has been hectic, and being forced to sleep here to prevent burglaries doesn't make it better!"

"Our deepest apologies for that, Lady Kangaskhan," Francis said sincerely with another short bow. "We thank you for your assistance then," he finished, beckoning Flash to come with him. Flash nodded and the two quickly left Kangaskhan to attend to her next customer.

The two walked past the line and headed towards the Felicity Bank. To their luck, there weren't any Pokémon from rescue teams in need of her services at the time. Before they reached their new destination, Flash decided to start a conversation.

"So, you like Kangaskhan much?" she asked, showing off a smirk on her face.

Francis huffed. "Absolutely not. It is all a matter of showing respect to your elders," he firmly replied. "I will have you know that there already is a female in my life."

"Oh, but I thought you were dealing with leadership issues when you were away," Flash quickly added.

Francis stopped walking, and lowered his head. "Miss Flash, if you are so intent on knowing my private love life, what about you telling me about yours?" he said calmly, yet with a slight snide tone Flash huffed and turned her back towards Francis, beginning to walk up the last bit to the Felicity Bank. "Thought so," Francis muttered to himself.

Dragging the toolbox with her, Flash used all her might to toss it up onto the counter of Felicity Bank.

Persian yowled at the sudden noise, and then narrowed her eyes as she eyed Flash. "Oh, I see the rescuing business is flourishing just fine for you, no?" she assumed with a purr. She bent down and inspected the toolbox, opening it and checking the money compartment in it.

Flash stood proudly in front of Persian. "Well, you could say that, heh. It's right on the spot, so I'm home free!"

"Fourteen thousand?" Persian asked with doubt. "Taking account on how slow of a start you had, it's almost unbelievable…"

"It appears Miss Flash had found a rather large sum in Thunderwave Cave, Miss Persian," Francis asserted.

Persian shot the Rattata a quick glance. "Mrs Persian," she corrected lowly, tensing her forepaws.

Francis bowed in an apologising manner. "My apologies, Mrs Persian."

Persian looked back at the toolbox, checking the money that was in it. "Nevertheless, I shall take these and sort out the debts of yours," she first said, picking out the coins. She got a sly grin on her feline face. "Although what remains is the interest, and we're talking about a forty-five percent interest rate per day."

Flash's jaw dropped and Francis put his small paw on his face.

Persian smiled widely as she flicked a paw. "Just kidding," she said with a snicker before she emptied the toolbox of its money. "That takes care of your debt, and many habitats around here will be pleased."

Flash let out a small line of steam through her nostrils when realizing that Persian had given her a brief scare. But it quickly dissipated when she heard her second statement. "I guess," she grumbled. "That means I'm in the clear now, right?"

"That's correct," the feline replied with a smile as she returned the toolbox to Flash. "You're free to do what you want, until you start committing more thefts and losing the goods." Seeing Flash's accepting stare, she added: "But of course you could continue with your rescue team."

Flash gave a frustrated sigh as she threw up her arms in the air. "Not you too! Why is it so suddenly important for you all that I have this stupid rescue team?" she shouted, "I do whatever I damn want!" With that, she turned around and stomped towards the centre of the town square. Francis followed suit, shaking his head at the Charmander's behaviour.

"Say, Miss Flash, did you not overreact just a little?" Francis asked as he had hastened his pace to be next to her. "With that debt settled with, you should be less tense, should you not?"

Flash slightly slowed down her pace and glanced up at the clear sky. "I know…" she admitted with a silent sigh, "It's just that, I don't know what to do with Loopy. The townsfolk are gonna be on my back asking me why I would toss him away after he helped me out on the rescue team thing." She headed to the stone bench at the centre square of the town and sat down on it.

Francis hopped up at the bench next to her. "Maybe you should remain as a rescue team until you find out about his original whereabouts," he suggested. Flash let out a frustrated sigh. "Now, Miss Flash, would it really hurt to stay as a rescuer for a few more days? Do think of what you have gained throughout this experience!"

Flash contemplated the brief statement Francis had given her. She had indeed gotten a little bit stronger, learned to breathe fire (even though she just knew Ember for now) and had explored the region some. It sure beat hiding at her old shack which was now her rescue team base. But she had earned some enemies as well as friends; she knew there'd be no way in hell she could ever set her foot in Sinister Woods.

Thinking of some of the friends, or rather, rescue team colleagues, she wondered if she should try having fun with the rescue team thing, like Team Juvens. After all it was mainly thanks to them she could pay off the majority of her debt. Her eyes lit up as she remembered a thought she had earlier this day.

"Hey, Francis." The Rattata glanced at her, tugging his whisker. "How about we ask Team Juvens if Loopy could join them? I mean, he and Dieter seem to go along well."

Francis raised an eyebrow as he still held one of his whiskers in his paws. He twirled it slightly before he let it go with a faint twang sound. "Well that is rather devious, I say. I see what you are getting at, but it does sound like you are quite intended to dispose of him."

Flash crossed her arms and snorted out a small puff of smoke. "What's it to you? If I remember correctly, you and Loopy didn't get off well in the beginning!" she retorted.

"I will not deny that," Francis replied, ignoring the Charmander's smug grin, "Although I take it you had little problems getting acquainted with him." He shot her an inquisitive look. "Am I right?"

Flash's smug grin slowly melted into a badly hidden snarl. She knew that she had had a lot of trouble getting to know him without blowing up on him, but back then Loopy had even more trouble forming coherent sentences. "That's different! It's settled! _Maybe_ one more job after the fight!" she spat out, clenching her small paws. "Someone is bound to recognize him!"

Francis exhaled an exasperated sigh. "Well, I can say he has grown quite attached to you for what I have seen, Miss Flash. What if he would become heartbroken from your decision?"

Flash pointed a trembling claw at the Rattata. "Don't you ever try using my conscience for this, Francis!" she spat, teeth gritting, "There's nothing between me and Loopy! Don't make any dumbass assumptions!"

Rolling his eyes, Francis decided there was not much point arguing with the leader of the rescue team for the moment. "Say, regarding the fighting tournament," he started, earning a more questioning look from Flash, "I do not think I will be able to be there and watch. So… may I borrow your quarters for the day? I have some arrangements for tomorrow, you see."

Flash raised an eyescale. "Hey, now, that came out of nowhere! What arrangements? Are you planning stuff behind my back?" she questioned, taken aback by Francis's request.

"Oh, no, no, no," Francis quickly interjected, waving a paw. "I am referring to matters that concern only me. It is nothing that will trouble you at all," he assured.

Flash stood up and crossed her arms. "Does this have anything to do with your Bluntenjaw thing?" she guessed.

"BluntenTOOTH!" Francis corrected, his voice having a loud, offended tone. "Such rudeness mispronouncing my noble name," he then muttered.

"You want to borrow the place or not?"

Francis drew a frustrated sigh. "Yes, there are some private arrangements with a fellow Bluntentoother I must go through, and I fear we can't have the ceremony at our regular quarters due to suspecting Sharpenslash interference." He paused, glancing around. "You see, Miss Flash, those vile Sneasel are planning to interrupt a very vital ceremony we Bluntentooths have."

"Uh, what kind of ceremony? I hope it doesn't involve summoning ancient legendaries that will destroy the world."

Francis said nothing, and looked at Flash as if she was a loony. "…Really, Miss Flash, your imagination is astounding. Nevertheless, it will not cause any bothersome situations for you, so worry not. All I ask for is for some privacy after noon tomorrow."

Flash shrugged. "I suppose it's okay..."

"I am much grateful, Miss Flash. It is a rather fitting timing when I think about it. As I believe after tomorrow's event I… I might have more important matters to turn to."

This caught Flash's attention. Was Francis going to leave the team? After _he_ had berated Flash for attempting to disband Team Brawl? "What kind of matters?" Flash didn't have time to say anything more before a shrill and offended voice rang out from the western side of the centre square.

"YOU CHARGE ME HOW MUCH THAT, YOU SAY?"

Both Flash and Francis snapped their heads to face the direction the voice had come from. They spotted a team of three dark/grass types standing in font of a small, blue Pokémon with three cotton balls attached around its body. The three Pokémon that surrounded the Jumpluff were of the same species, although the leader of the trio had evolved one stage ahead of his two subordinates.

"No need to yell, miss; it ain't gonna make the price any lower," the leader Pokémon said firmly. He crossed his woody arms and tipped one of his leaf fingers on one of his elbows. He jerked his head, flicking his long, white hair in the process. "If you require Team Shiftry's assistance, you better have enough Poké."

The two other Pokémon, which shared the same pointy nose as their leader stepped forward, clenching both their left mitten-like hands. "Yeah! No pay, no way!" the simultaneously cheered, staring into the lone Jumpluff's insecure eyes.

Flash rolled her eyes upon hearing the two Nuzleaf's lame cheer. She glanced down at Francis to see that he was watching the event as well.

"Why are you taking advantage of my situation, you big meanie?" the grass/flying type protested.

The Shiftry sighed and held out his palm in a dismissive gesture. "Supply and demand, I'm afraid. The price stands at five thousand Poké, take it or leave it."

Flash and Francis got off the bench they were sitting on and edged closer to the event that was occurring. "I wonder what kind of job they're talking about?" she mumbled to Francis.

The Jumpluff let out an angered sigh. "Really? FIVE THOUSAND to just whip up a wind so my friend can get out of the hole in Silent Chasm. It's just a minor Razor Wind and that's it!" Shiftry just rolled his eyes.

"It appears that Shiftry over there is charging Miss Jumpluff quite the hefty sum," Francis mused. "Is it not such a shame with rescue teams only being in it for the money?" he then remarked, glancing at Flash.

"Oh, shut up!"

"Now, now, I was not indicating you were as heartless as Mr Shiftry over there," Francis then added, tugging his whisker with a smirk.

Flash huffed and crossed her arms. She turned her back towards Francis and contemplated whether she'd keep watching the scene. She considered about butting in, but even though she'd accept for a lower price, she wouldn't have time to do the mission with Loopy due to the tournament coming up. She at least hoped that some other team would volunteer.

Flash narrowed her eyes when she spotted a group of three large Pokémon in the distance. Her heart picked up the pace when she made out which Pokémon they were.

"Francis, let's get outta here." The Rattata looked up at her with a quizzical look. Flash sighed and headed towards the opposite direction. "Let's get Loopy already, it's getting late."

"But if I may object-" Francis had no more time to speak as Flash promptly grabbed him by the scruff and pulled him with her to the east. "This is an outrage!" he burst out before Flash slammed her other paw over his mouth to shut him up. He struggled a bit at first, but upon realizing that Flash was very intent on getting away from the centre square; he just let her drag him with her.

After Flash had pulled Francis with her and hid behind the eastern side of the Felicity bank, she sat down against the wall. Francis eyed her upsettingly.

"I take it you have an explanation?"

"I didn't see any reason to be there anymore. And besides, I think the dojo is closing soon, so we better get Loopy before he does anything stupid." Francis just gave her a knowing look, not saying anything. Flash tried to return the stern gaze, but only ended up glancing at the other way. "I think that other 'big team' is gonna have talk with them. It's nothing interesting, really."

"You are referring to Team ACT, are you not?" Francis jumped away to avoid a backhanded swipe from Flash. "Touchy subject?"

Flash crossed her arms and looked away from Francis. Just thinking of that team angered her enough to break something nearby. She hoped that team would just finish their business with that Shiftry and then be on their way. For all she knew, that team wasn't visiting the town that often, seeing how they often were on long, difficult missions. Aside from her anger, there was also a little bit of shame inside her too.

"Well," she started, trying not to scream or shoot an Ember at Francis, "you'll probably bug me anyway if I don't tell you."

"Certainly not, Miss Flash," Francis promptly replied, staring solemnly at her. "If you wish to keep it for yourself, I shall bother you no more about it."

Flash stayed silent for a while, feeling slightly relieved that Francis ad said he wouldn't push the subject any further. A small smile curled up on her lips before she decided to peek around the corner to see if Team ACT had left. To her luck, both teams had left the centre square.

"Thanks," she said as she stepped out of the corner. "So… should we go get Loopy now? For real?" she suggested.

Francis nodded. "Maybe there are a few things you might need to know from Spathi?" He began following Flash as she headed off towards the Makuhita Dojo to check on Loopy.


	36. New and Familiar Faces

_**Chapter XXXVI: New and Familiar Faces**_

A/N: Sorry for the delay, I had to go to the bathroom. And what the hell is that? Up there in the right upper corner! What is that? It's ugly. So… regarding the lack of update in over a year…. I … well.. I really betrayed you… I'm sorry, and I know I'll never get that trust back ever. And for some reason, this chapter got really, really long.

Minor update. Due to FFn's dislike of linebreakers consisting of multiple hyphens, old readers of this may notice a few new changes. I've dealt with the linebreaker issue, and a few other things that were erroneous in the PMD canon (such as calling Poké Pokédollars).

Fun fact. Since the previous update, the amount of stories in the Pokémon section has improved by at least ten thousand. Wrap your mind around that one.

* * *

The entrance door to the Makuhita Dojo was hastily opened after Flash had knocked on it. Spathi tried giving Flash an inviting expression, although she could easily see the masked frustration.

"Gee, are things going hectic today?" Flash assumed.

"Yes," Spathi hastily replied as he pulled both Flash and Francis inside. "There's a lot of tension, and I will not stand for any fights before the tournament!" he explained to them. "And I've tried explaining most of the rules to Loopy, and I _hope_ he got it clear which rules are for which kind of fights?"

Flash raised an eyescale, not catching the last part. "Come again?"

Spathi facepalmed and turned around in a manner of defeat. "I don't have time discussing this. You'll just have to hope your friend caught most of what I said. He's over there working with the dumbbells, I believe. " He pointed to the backside of the gym and then quickly left the duo, having to check on the other tournament participants.

The two looked at the Makuhita as he left. "Well, he got his hands full," Flash remarked.

"It appears so," Francis just replied, "please let us be hasty." Flash gave him a funny look, wondering about his sudden change of behaviour. "I happened to spot a few acquaintances whom we met as delinquents a few missions ago."

Flash quickly looked around for the Pokémon Francis were referring too. "Those stinky Poochyena? Where?"

Francis sighed. "Never mind, our priority is to get Loopy back to base. Starting any unnecessary fights would only have dire consequences for him." He looked ahead to see Loopy lifting a pair of small dumbbells. "Ah, excellent, there he is." He hastened up his pace to meet up with the Machop.

Flash wasn't paying too much attention. She was still wondering about whatever Pokémon was here. And just before she spotted them, it hit her like an anvil. _"Yeah, those bullies,"_ she thought bitterly as she spotted two Tyrogue talking to each other, one of them training and the other one cheering him on. She tried taking her eyes of them, but wasn't able to. She remembered their harassment towards Loopy and her.

"Oh, hi Francis and Flash!" Loopy exclaimed happily, almost tossing the two small weights out of his excitement.

That helped Flash avert her attention from the two Tyrogue. "Hey, Loopy, the training going fine?" she replied.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh." Loopy began to lift the weights at a steady pace. "Much nice Pokémon talk with," he said in the same rhythm as he worked out with the weights.

Flash put her paw to her forehead and grinned. "Heh, sounds good for you, Loopy. You meet anyone you know?" she then asked him. Loopy just smiled and continued working out.

"We came here to take you back to the base," Francis told him. Loopy paused his workout briefly, and then continued again. "There are things Miss Flash would want to talk with you about," he then added.

Loopy looked at Flash happily. "Flash talk here can!" he burst out.

"I'd like to talk at the base where we're alone," she quickly retorted, "besides, it's getting late. Aren't you hungry?"

Loopy put down the dumbbells and patted his belly. "Little hunger, but no hot-hot food," he said back.

Flash grinned. "Of course not. I'll see if I can make something sweet." She grabbed a hold of his wrist and began to walk towards the exit, only to be jerked back by Loopy roughly enough for her to land on her rear end.

"No, no! Must clean self. Spathi dojo rules!" he exclaimed, helping Flash to a stand.

Grumbling, Flash dusted herself off. "You didn't have to tug so hard… but fine, we can wait."

Loopy smiled and darted off to the shower room. Francis had put his paw on his lower jaw, thinking. "He refrained from answering that he had met anyone," he mused.

Flash flinched. "…I hope he did." She looked over at the two Tyrogue, and saw that Tyke had spotted her. He seemed to be whispering something to his friend and pointing at her. "Francis, those Tyrogue-"

"I know, Miss Flash. I did tell you of them," Francis shot back, still looking at the room Loopy had entered. "Have no worries," he assured her. "What you should worry about is that Loopy have yet to meet someone he knows."

Flash couldn't take her eyes off the two Tyrogue and their mischievous grins. They were up to something, and she wasn't willing to find out. Even though Francis had told her she shouldn't worry, she began to feel nervous when the two fighting types advanced towards her. She edged closer to Francis, only to realise that he had unnoticeably trotted off to somewhere else in the dojo.

"_So that's why they're suddenly decided to come here,"_ she thought, trying to scan the area around her quickly to see where Francis had gone off too. _"Damnit, why did he have to walk off like that? Idiot critter!"_ she thought as she took an instinctive step back from the approaching Tyrogue pair. As they got closer, she could see their grins of anticipations plastered over their face as they rubbed their fists.

She took another step back, and upon doing that, she saw the Tyrogue pair's smug expression turned into a frightened, shocked stare as they halted their advance. They were both clenching their fists before one of them said something to the other before walking away. Flash wondered why they had suddenly retreated like that.

Her question was answered when she felt a hand being placed on her shoulder. She first guessed it was Loopy's hand, but when she was roughly turned around, she met the eyes of a rather upset looking Machop.

"Do you know that other Machop you talked with earlier?"

Flash blinked, she knew instantly that this wasn't Loopy; that voice was female. "Uh, ehm, who?" she stuttered, but was only answered by a harder grip on her shoulder.

"I asked you if you know that Machop!" she repeated, although with a harsher tone.

Flash was about to answer, but it was then she felt an acrid stench go into her nostrils. She tried to back away from the female Machop, but the grip on her shoulder was firm. "Phew, by Mew you stink!" she blurted, covering her nostrils with her paws to prevent the stench of sweat going into her sense of smelling.

The Machop frowned and waited impatiently for an answer.

"What, you know Loopy or something?" Flash then said. She still tried to distance herself, but the grip remained firm. "I'll have you know he's my rescue team partner," she added.

The Machop tilted her head. "Oh really?" she replied as her frown melted into a sly smirk. "So he wasn't acting silly after all."

Flash tried to push the hand off her shoulder. "There, I told you, now let me go, damnit!" she cried. The Machop simply shoved Flash to the ground with a light flick of her hand. "Ow, hey!"

"You told me to let go," the Machop teased, earning a growl from Flash. "Naw, you wouldn't want to start a fight, would you?" she cooed as she looked down at Flash.

"Considering you are a participant of the tournament as well, it would be a most bad idea for the both of you."

The female Machop looked over her shoulder to see Francis, who gave a brief bow to her. "Miss Flash, can I not even be away for a few minutes to have a quick look at the roster before you get yourself in trouble?"

The Machop put her hands on her hips, shaking her head with a grin. "It's not too much to expect from a fire type. Things get hot around when they're near," she quipped.

Flash growled and jumped to her feet. She was about to retort with an insult towards the fighting type, but remembered where she were. Huffing, she tried glaring holes into the Machop. "Whatever! Do_ you_ happen to know Loopy?" she asked back, trying to hold back her anger.

The smirk faded slightly on the Machop. "Not much, but give me some more time, and I'll know him more, if you mind."

Flash frowned. "Well, that was pointless. How about you going back to your training and leave us alone? Your stench is polluting the air around here," she snapped.

"I do have to agree. Your body odour is rather noticing, if I have to put it bluntly, miss," Francis interjected, flinching when the Machop gave him a piercing glare. "I am aware excessive training can cause that, yes," he added.

"Well, seeing as you're probably gonna take him to your base, can I at least say bye to him before he leaves?" she requested.

Flash shot her an agitated look as smoke started billowing out of her nostrils. But after seeing the Machop tense up, she calmed down slightly. "What, are you interested in him or what?" Francis put his paw to his forehead and grumbled something.

Stretching her arms, the Machop replied, "Well, if I showed that openly, I'd get Spathi on my tail, and I wouldn't want that. I'm just curious of how much of a fight he'll put up in case he'd face me."

Flash clenched her paws. "He may be a bit dense, but he's got a lot of power in his punch!" Flash retorted.

"So far I think he's kinda soft, so I won't have to worry about anything," she said with a smirk as she flexed one of her arms.

Francis stepped in between the two girls, feeling that he was taking a risk by doing that. "Pardon, but maybe we could introduce ourselves before proceeding with this argument." He did a bowing gesture towards the Machop. "I am Francis of Bluntentooth IV Junior."

Flash glanced down at the Rattata and grumbled. "Whatever, I'm Flash of Team Brawl."

The Machop rolled her eyes and put both her arms behind her head. "I normally don't tell my name to weak Pokémon like you, but since that Loopy guy is with you, I might as well. Zilea." She smirked.

Flash could feel her inner fire blazing up as Zilea was making the humiliating statement towards her and Francis. It took a lot of her willpower not to deliver a solid scratch across the arrogant Machop's face to wipe that smirk off her face.

"Zilea, huh? I could've sworn it was Stinky!" she snapped back while trying to control her anger.

Zilea's smirk widened slightly as she tried to keep her face straight. "One more remark about that and I will give you a hug much like Loopy did on me earlier. That way we can share the same smell unless I accidentally break your weak spine," she said with a sweet, yet venomous voice. She briefly raised both her arms and took a quick step towards Flash.

Flash jumped away on instinct. "Gah! Stay away!" she exclaimed, she did _not_ want that sweaty Machop to touch her.

Zilea lowered her arms and triumphantly put them on her hips. "What's wrong? Loopy said something that 'I'm like Flashie'. I take it that you're his special someone, right?"

"Shut up, he's just a partner," she retaliated, not noticing that her flame on her tail burned brighter. "Besides, fire and fighting doesn't mix!"

"Young ladies, if you would please-" Francis tried to settle the two down with no success.

Clapping her hands together, Zilea gave a fake, yet taunting laugh. "Oh, please. It's so obvious that you're his little boyfriend." Seeing Flash's frown darken, she continued. "Maybe you're scared that he might think I'm the cuter one? Maybe that's why you're so hostile towards me, thinking that I will steal your cute little huggy Machop from you."

Flash's tail flame flared up to an almost whitish colour as her scales turned a bright red. "LOOPY IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND, YOU STINKING MUSCLEHEAD!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She noticed that everybody in the dojo had stopped what they were doing and was looking at her and Zilea. When she looked back up at the Machop, she saw that she wasn't smirking anymore. She was frowning.

"I must say that yelling does not solve any disputes," Francis interjected.

The three heard heavy footsteps stomping up towards them. "Alright, what's the problem here?" It was Spathi, and he didn't look like he was in the mood for any setbacks. "Well, go on, speak!" he demanded.

Zilea stepped forward, wearing a forced smile. "Well I'd say..." She gestured towards the ever so red Flash. "...I'm really on the edge of tying this Charmander's limbs together in a knot. She's doing nothing but insulting me."

"Me? You the one-"

"You'll be tying up no one!" Spathi's interrupted with a voice containing more anger than a Primeape's fury. "You know the rules, Zilea. No fighting in here before the tournament. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

Both Flash and Francis hopped back from the Makuhita's outburst, but Zilea stood her ground against the towering Pokémon. She crossed her arms and tensed her muscles slightly.

Eyeing the Machop, Spathi continued. "You are one cheeky little lady, Zilea. If I see you even _wink_ at that other Machop in here, you can consider yourself banned from the tournament." Zilea just shrugged at this and rolled her eyes. Spathi neared his head to hers, and then drew back. "My goodness, you _reek_! Did you spar against a Muk before coming in here?" he then snapped at her.

Zilea opened her mouth and let out a gasp. Unable to say anything due to not wanting to be disqualified from the tournament, she turned her back to the Makuhita. Muttering a few inaudible profanities, she approached the dumbbells Loopy had used. She picked them up and began exercising with them. Every now and then, she'd send a glower towards Flash.

"And you, little lady!" Spathi burst out at Flash, getting her attention, "I don't care what bad day you might have had, but for the love of the legendary birds, just stop picking fights in my dojo!" Flash opened her mouth to speak, but Spathi responded her action by slamming his foot to the ground hard enough to cause the dojo to shake slightly. "I _mean_ it! It's probably more likely you just came here to take Loopy home. But if that's the only reason, stay focused on doing that instead of provoking other Pokémon in here."

Francis tugged his whisker lightly after the Makuhita had finished his outburst. Casting a few glances around, he spotted that some the other training fighting types had paused to look at the commotion. He sighed and nudged Flash to get her attention.

"Let us comply with Mr Spathi's request. Loopy should be finished by this time."

A sudden noise of something being slammed against a wall caused the three to flinch with astonishment. Spathi turned around to see where the noise had come from, and saw that one of the punching bags had been split in half. The other half that had hit the wall had blackened as if it had been charred. The responsible Blaziken just stood there with her arms behind her head, looking disappointed.

"For the love of…" Spathi began, massaging his temple with his index finger and thumb, "Aska! You blaze kicked that punching bag again, didn't you?" She just rolled her eyes. Had Spathi not had his back turned towards Flash and Francis, they would've seen his face turn redder than a tomato. "What have I told you about ruining those bags?" he exclaimed at her as he began stomping towards her.

Francis cleared his throat again to get Flash's attention. "Now would be a good time," he suggested.

"Uh, sure," Flash mumbled, "But if he's not ready, you should go into tell him to hurry. Spathi might flip if he sees me go in the males' shower room."

Francis let off a brief cough before he went into the shower room. After he closed the door behind him, Flash walked up to the wall next to the door and leaned against it. She started to worry again what she'd say to Loopy when they eventually would get back home. Maybe she could come up with something. The idea with getting him to join Team Juvens didn't sound too bad, although raising the team's number of incoherent speakers could cause some problem.

She looked around the dojo again, and the Tyrogue pair caught her attention again. She smirked as she saw Tyke doing push ups with one hand; no matter how much he'd train, he wouldn't stand a chance against Loopy. She saw Tyke looking up at her during his push ups, and her smirk quickly faded. He seemed to have a lot of anger and determination in that stare of his. After his friend said something she couldn't hear, he resumed his training.

She looked back towards the door to the showers. She started to wonder why Loopy was taking so long. The less time she spent in here, the better. A thought struck her; what if Francis was talking to Loopy about the team? She approached the door and leaned her head against it to see if she could listen through the door.

"Hey, Charmander girl!" a voice called. It wasn't Zilea, but Flash did recognize it slightly. She moved away from the door and turned around. She saw Aska standing right before the female's shower room door, carrying a towel over her shoulder. She was looking at Flash with a slight frown.

"What?" Flash asked with annoyance. She didn't recall having provoked that giant chicken lately.

"For your information, fire and fighting goes very well together." She clenched one of her brown clawed hands into a fist. "I'd like you to say that again once I swipe the champ title tomorrow from that skirt wearing boxer!"

Flash rolled her eyes; whatever beef that Blaziken had with Xavier was not much of her concern, really. She decided to remain silent to avoid saying something that'd anger the dual type. Judging their temper, it wouldn't matter what he said, be it compliment of remark.

"There's a saying, you know," uttered Zilea as she was working out with the weights, "The bigger they are the harder they fall." Flash saw the Aska's eyes narrow slightly as she looked towards the Machop. Zilea kept her smirk. "And what help will fire do? Only normal physical moves, fighting moves are allowed in terms of damage. So, really, it's more of a hindrance for you since you need to concentrate not on blaze kicking your opponent or something."

The Blaziken kept her gaze at her. "Considering that you won't have to face me, it's understandable why you're sounding so cocky." She put one of her clawed hands on her hips and got a smug expression on her face. "Kind of a shame, though. Had the brackets been designed so that I had faced you, it'd probably be a one move match, with you as the loser." Zilea dropped one of the weights she was holding, and managed just to move her foot out from its way.

"As if I'd let walking poultry defeat me!" she spat back. Seeing Aska frown at that remark caused the Machop to smirk back at the taller Pokémon. Flash coughed to cover up the chuckle she was about to emit at Zilea's remark. It was a little bit funny, but she wouldn't want to be on the bad side of a fully evolved Pokémon either.

Aska's frown faded away as she shrugged. "You're not worth it," she plainly muttered. She turned to open the door to the females' shower room. Before she went inside she looked over her shoulder, her look resembling contempt. "Trying to get me disqualified before the tournament, weren't you? That's low, really low. But that's no surprise seeing the attempt coming from someone like you," she remarked before closing the door behind her.

Flash saw how Zilea's face darkened with anger as she reached for the small dumbbell she had dropped. At least Flash had witnessed a funny exchange of dialogue between two overly competitive fighting types before the tournament. She saw Zilea look right at her with a very aggravated look. She could even see her clenching her teeth as she resumed her exercising, muttering something about dirty-fighting, flaming chicken-wuss.

Quickly looking away from the now easy to tick off Machop, she resumed waiting for Loopy. What was taking him so long? And what were he and Francis talking about in the shower room? She leaned against the wall again, waiting for the two Slowpokes. She decided to cast those two Tyrogue another glare.

The door suddenly was suddenly kicked open and Flash tried stepping out of its way. The hardwood slammed into her left shoulder. "Ah! What the hell?" she cried. As she rubbed her shoulder, relieved that it had just been a little bit bruised, she heard Zilea laughing at her. Flash glowered at her, only to receive a toothy grin from the Machop. Another thing she noticed was that there was a strong scent of soap coming from him.

"Flash okay?" she heard Loopy say to her. "I kick door open…"

"Well, I would say that using unnecessary force to open a door like that can lead to consequences."

"Me be little anger," Loopy snapped back, but when Flash looked at him, he didn't look that angry at all. He looked hurt. Flash quickly thought back if she had said anything about him that he could've heard, but Loopy beat her to it. "Flash say you no friend."

Upon realising this, Flash felt a flood of guilt wash over her. "Oh… th-that outburst," she began, feeling her lower jaw tremble as she tried to find a valid explanation. "It, it was that other Machop. Y-you're my friend, Loopy, that stinkhead assumed something else!"

Loopy crossed his arms, not saying anything. His frown became a confused eyescale raise as he tilted his head. 'But I hear Flash say 'me not Flash boyfriend.' Me not hear wrong."

"I can still hear you! Don't talk Tauros crap about me!" snapped Zilea as she still kept lifting her weights. Flash looked over her shoulder, casting the female Machop an uncaring look before looking back at Loopy.

Flash ignored the irritated growl Zilea gave and went back to explain to Loopy. "Look, there's a difference between boyfriend and friend."

"But me be boy, and friend. That mean-"

Flash clenched her claws and closed her eyes with frustration. "No, no, no! It's two different things!" she began. "A boyfriend… well… I really don't wanna explain it in here." She felt a rush of heat reach her cheeks after saying that. She knew she was about to blush in embarrassment, but just a little.

Loopy lowered his arms, and slowly moved them behind his back. His eyescales raised a little as his mouth curled into a soft smile. "…it mean kissing?" came the curious question.

Flash's eyes went almost as wide as dinner plates as her whole face became bright red out of fluster. Her tail went completely straight, feeling that everyone in the gym was looking at her. She knew that Zilea was probably having a blast watching her feel squirm in embarrassment. She wanted to sink through the floor and just get out of there.

"Not quite, Loopy," Francis spoke up, tugging his whisker, "I would say it is a better idea to choose another time to talk about that subject, if you would mind that."

Loopy smiled fully and nodded. "Is fine. Flash show when home," he chirped, putting his hands on his hips.

Flash could feel her heart skip a few beats as she felt her breathing stopping at the instant she had heard Loopy's suggestion. She wanted to lash out and slap him for even saying that in front of the rest of the occupants of the Dojo. Not that too many of them heard, but she was sure Zilea had heard; when she glanced over her shoulder she saw the Machop smirk at her. She turned back to Loopy. "Maybe," she mumbled through gritted teeth.

"No," Loopy said back firmly, keeping his curious smile. "Me want know."

It was times like these Flash wished she knew Dig and could just dig her way under the ground. She felt as if everybody were looking at her, as if she was glowing or something. _"Why is he being so persistent on wanting to know that?"_ she thought as she grew ever so red. _"Does he think it's a different kind of hug or a game? But I can't just lie to him…"_

"It would be the wisest to discuss that action back at the base," Francis suggested, "According to Mr Spathi's… standards regarding this dojo it would be best _not_ to explain or show what kissing is." Flash liked Francis's suggestion, but still couldn't stop blushing.

"What's the matter, Weakmander? Persian got your tongue?" remarked Zilea, having stopped lifting the weights. Seeing Flash's face, she continued. "Oh, my mistake. You must be the smallest Charmeleon I've ever seen!"

Flash was about to walk up to that smug Machop and slap her across the face when she felt Loopy's hand on her shoulder. He gently pulled her back and stepped in front of her.

"Silly Zilea. Flash be charomander, not mean charomelon." Flash grit her teeth and slowly put her paws on her forehead at Loopy's correction. "And Flash be little weak, but has good fire!" Flash snorted out a puff of smoke, feeling insulted. Seeing Zilea still smirking at her didn't make it any better.

Zilea put her hand on her hip. "So, Loopy," she began, "I heard you're in a rescue team."

Loopy nodded clumsily and smiled widely. "Yes, Me and Flash and Francis is good team! Much fun!" he exclaimed, punching the air with excitement.

Zilea chuckled. "Then maybe you'll last a little longer when you face me," she said as she started to approach towards him. "I'm saying… two rounds, at most and you won't be getting up."

Loopy responded by flexing both his arms. "Me strong! I train much!" he boasted, moving his fist to bump his chest. But when he saw that Zilea was getting a little too close to him, he stepped back once. "Um, no hug. Spathi get anger…" he said at first, holding his hands in front of him to gesture the female Machop to stop.

Zilea's smile turned into a wider smirk. "What? You seemed so happy to see me the first time. Sure, I can say calling me a "girly me" isn't exactly a good first impression. Maybe _I_ should return the hug now?" With that, she suddenly took a quick step towards Loopy, raising her arms.

Loopy yelped and quickly back pedalled away from her, but backed right into Flash.

Flash didn't expect to be rammed by Loopy's backside, and stumbled onto her back. "Hey, watch it, Loopy!" she yelled at him.

Francis put his paw to his forehead. "It is apparently an impossible task to converse here without things going out of paw," he muttered. "If we could please settle down and head back to base already. I highly doubt this Dojo would be a comfortable place to sleep at."

"Shut up, Francis!" Flash burst out as she scrambled to her feet. She glared down at the Rattata before turning around to glare at Loopy. Seeing his slightly sheepish and apologetic on his face, she quickly grabbed him by his wrist. "Come on, we're going home now!" she growled.

Loopy stood slightly on his ground at first, not letting Flash pull him right away. "But want talk with Zil-"

"_NOW!"_ roared Flash, tugging him as hard as she could. He still stood his ground, but sighed and complied with Flash's loud demand.

Zilea's smirk faded a little. "Huh, you seem jealous," she remarked.

"SHUT UP!" Flash yelled at her, "Or I will toast your face, you… you… you walking Muk!" she spat. Zilea frowned and said nothing. Flash kept a raging, yet wary glare at Zilea as she watched the Machop cross her arms. She quickly glanced towards Francis to see him tug at his whiskers, more likely to be in his own thoughts.

Loopy grabbed Flash's claws and pulled them off his wrist. "Flash no need pull I can walk self," he said, breaking the short silence. Zilea was still quiet, determined not to break her eye contact with Flash.

"Fine…" Flash said quietly to Loopy, looking back at Zilea. She feared the Machop would punch the air out of her, but Spathi had been strict about no fights in the dojo before the tournament. Then again, she didn't want to push her luck. When she looked into Zilea's piercing stare, she could see the rage she was repressing. "L-let's go then," she stuttered, turning to look towards Loopy.

Loopy looked back at her with a neutral expression, and then looked over towards Zilea. He smiled and waved at her. "Bye, Zilea. Day tomorrow we see who strong is!" he chirped. Flash noticed the sudden change in his behaviour and didn't like it. Not one bit.

Zilea looked at Loopy, and her frown turned into a smirk. She uncrossed her arms and put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, I'll be looking forward to that," was her gently reply as she winked at him.

Loopy tilted his head. "Have sand in eye?" he asked her. Zilea's arms dropped down with an exasperated sigh and the put her hand on her forehead as she shook her head. Loopy just shrugged and looked back at Flash.

Flash nodded at Loopy, still feeling worried that Zilea would punch her in the back of her head without warning. "There are some things we need to talk about," she told him.

"Yes, concerning future things, Loopy," Francis added before the three walked towards the dojo's exit together.

* * *

The three walked down the dirt path leading from town. The descending sun was illuminating the field with an orangey dusk.

"Be Kashkan happy?" Loopy asked Flash, feeling it was a little safer to start a conversation once far away from the dojo.

Flash snapped out of her thoughts. "Huh, happy about what?"

"Money pay back?" he added, looking right at her.

"She was very pleased, Loopy," Francis interjected before casting Flash a glance.

Flash, still looking at Loopy, continued. "But she's still a bit upset about that door…"

Loopy gave her a surprised look. "She no fix door?" He looked up at the sky thoughtfully.

"Anyway, how did you get to know that Zilea jerk?" Flash blurted, changing the subject.

Loopy looked back at her, raising his eyescales at her sudden change of topic. "Um… me first think look in mirror, but it be odd Zilea be she me," he explained to her, scratching his head. He then smiled as he continued. "She be much strong; she hug hard, but soft."

A dark look crossed Flash's face as she heard that. "What?" she uttered with a flat, yet tense voice.

"Anger Spathi be very angry," Loopy continued, "but only warn."

"I would say," Francis interjected, keeping a sharp eye of the road ahead as they walked, "Mr Spathi did seem very intent on things not taking turns towards the… romantic side inside the dojo, so to say." He tugged his whisker. "I do share his sympathies. I do not have high regards of certain Pokémon committing disorderly conduct. At least they could show a little bit of decency in public."

Flash let out a heavy and irritated sigh before glaring down at the Rattata. "And I wonder why you haven't received a punch in the face for being uptight and snooty!" she shot back, steam coming out from her nostrils.

Loopy gave Flash a concerned look. "Flash easy anger get." Flash jerked her attention back to him, her scales on her face reddening in anger. "Zilea not be much angry when meet."

"Well I can tell you she was a jerk AND a meanie when you weren't around!" she promptly snapped back at him, clenching her claws.

Loopy's face stayed concerned, and almost turned into a sad expression. "Flash be angry when first meet me. Yell much, but I try talk right."

Flash's glare softened into a shot as the eyescales rose in wonder. _"He still remembers that?"_ she thought to herself as she blinked while trying to find a reply. "…Whatever!" she then spat, "that muscle headed girl's up to something. I know it!"

Loopy stopped in his tracks and crossed his arms defiantly. "Me like Zilea. No care if Flash no like!" he declared with a scowl growing on his face. Hearing Flash suck in air for a loud rebuttal, he added: "Flash deal with it."

There was a shocked look on Flash's face, but it then proceeded to almost swell up in utter anger and rage. Both Loopy and Francis saw that Flash was about to try shoot out a jet of flame from her maw, despite her not having harnessed her ability to shoot a continuous stream of fire. As she opened her mouth, a thick, dark grey cloud billowed out from her mouth as she let out a loud scream in exasperation.

Both Loopy and Francis were covered by the thick, warm smoke despite trying to back away from it. The two tried to whisk away the smoke with their hands and paws, coughing wildly. Flash's anger remained; not caring that she had given her team mates a coughing fit.

"Miss Flash!" Francis shouted in between his coughs, "If you must practise your Smokescreen attack, which I say is far too early for you to consider practise in the first place, please-" He paused to let out another coughing fit. "-refrain from using us as targets!"

Flash glared at Francis's silhouette. "Why don't you just shut up?" she yelled back, panting after her exhalation. She looked over towards Loopy to see him using his scarf to filter the smoke to help his breathing. Her day was just getting worse and worse for every minute.

The smoke cleared soon after that – not being a genuine attack and more of a clumsy smoke exhalation – and she beckoned her team members to follow her. "I don't wanna hear another word about that stupid Zilea, Loopy!" she warned him before she started walking. Loopy and Francis looked at each other, Loopy giving the Rattata a questioning look. Francis just shook his head.


	37. Trash talking jerks!

_**Chapter XXXVII: Trash talking jerks!**_

Apparently I was in need to split the chapter. Don't we all hate when that happens?

* * *

Upon reaching her shack of a home, Flash sighed. She couldn't delay it anymore; she'd have to tell Loopy of what she was intending to do. Her anger fit had cooled down during the silent walk, and she wondered if Loopy would take her suggestion the wrong way. She looked down at Francis and saw his expecting look. She took a deep breath to speak up.

"Flash try fire again?" Loopy assumed as he backed away.

A small grin curled up on Flash's lips. "Heh, no, no," she quickly assured him. "There was this thing I wanted to talk to you about." Her grin faded away to a concerned look. The feeling she had in her stomach felt as she had swallowed a bucket of ice blocks made her feel uncomfortable. She knew Francis was watching and expecting her to tell Loopy.

Loopy put his hands on his hips and smiled. "Flash show kiss?" he asked hopefully as his eyes brightened with curiosity.

"No, not yet, not yet!" Flash quickly returned with a bright blush. "It's something else…" she then said with a lower voice, looking away. She took another breath to regain the little confidence she had left. "…You know Kangaskhan and Persian got paid and all that?" Loopy responded with a goofy nod. Flash fidgeted with her paws. "And… you know… they wanted us to do this Rescue Team… to… you know, get money."

"Yes, it be much fun," Loopy replied with his smile still present. "And much good Kangy money pay."

Flash let out a weak chuckle. "Y-yeah, and now that they're paid… well… there's not really much point in the rescue team." The end of that sentence barely came out from her mouth; it was like a whisper. But Loopy heard it; Flash could see his eyes widen ever so slightly. She quickly looked down at Francis, and could see that he was heading inside. _"Gee, thanks for the support…"_

"But it very exciting!" he argued, "Help other be fun and good."

Flash clenched her paws. "Loopy, I know it's been kinda exciting... but it's been way too dangerous." When she saw him tilt his head, she continued. "Yes, I know it came with the job. But think about it."

"Flash be scared?" Loopy asked with a slight concern. "Or… Flash no like rescue team?"

Flash looked away briefly. "No, I'm not scared…" She gulped. "Fine, a little. There have been a few times we've been close to die. I think that's a few times too many." She paused to see if Loopy understood what she was getting at. "I mean, you could join Team Juvens. You and Dieter seem to get along great." She forced a hopeful smile.

Loopy looked straight into her eyes. Where it sadness or anger, Flash didn't know. "Sound… maybe," he mumbled with a shrug. "What Francis say?"

"Well… he seems fine with it, but he wonders if you're okay with it." Loopy raised an eyescale. "But maybe someone will recognize you at that fighting tournament."

"Flash no want me live here?" was Loopy's response to that. Flash winced; she saw he was actually catching on quite fast.

"I didn't mean it like that!" she quickly retorted. "I mean that someone might've been missing you all this time."

Loopy put his hand on his lower jaw and thought for a few seconds. "Zilea be nice," he said quietly with a bit of hesitation; he knew Flash would just get angry at the mention of her name. And she did.

"I _told_ you not to talk about her! I don't like her!" She was clenching her paws so hard she though they'd start bleeding of the pressure.

Loopy just tilted his head. "…Sorry. But if Flash want, okay," he then said with a slight sigh. "Maybe have one mission before done?"

Flash did a double take at the sudden change Loopy got. _"That was awfully quick of him to agree,"_ she thought as she tried to find the words to reply to him. "Well, we could have one last mission after the tournament. I mean… you've really been helpful to me since I met you. I suppose we could do that."

Loopy smiled a little and gave a weak nod. "Mhm, Flash nice too, give home." Flash returned the smile. "But no more steal?"

Her smile faded as she looked away nervously. She couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't accidentally steal other Pokémon's stuff, but at least she had paid back for the lost merchandise Kangaskhan had stored. "I… I'm going to try," she promised him. She already regretted it; she knew she'd eventually break that promise. And whenever that'd happen, she hoped he wouldn't know.

She suddenly found herself caught in one of Loopy's hugs while she had been feeling guilty. "Hey!" she cried as she was lifted up. With her arms trapped, she kicked with her feet to make him let go.

"Flash calm. Is fun know Flash better be!" Loopy exclaimed as he pressed the side of his head to her chest. "Me try with Dieter talk next day!"

Flash struggled to break free from Loopy's tight hug. But she couldn't really deny that despite him giving her these sudden, clingy hugs, she kind of liked the affection Loopy was showing to her. "Loopy, please, can you let me go?" she asked him, trying not to yell at him this time. "It kinda tickles."

As if on cue, Loopy gently put her on the ground and let go. "Flash no angry of hug?" he asked her, feeling a little confused.

She smirked. "Nah, I can let you have that one."

"So THIS is the place you live at, Charmander girl!"

Both Flash and Loopy looked over their shoulders to see the two Tyrogue from the Makuhita Dojo. Flash frowned, recognizing Tyke from that encounter she had had with him and his cronies, although he was only having one of them with him. In the corner of her eye she saw Loopy raising his fists, frowning at the pair as well.

"Oh, what do _you _want?" Flash asked through gritted teeth, "I'm not in the mood for your crap!"

Tyke held his hands up, giving off a smug smirk. "Easy there, or your friend might get himself poisoned again." He put a hand on his hip, still smirking. "You wouldn't want that, would ya?"

Flash took a step forward, raising her clenched paw. "Wipe that grin off your face before I give you a face full of flames!" She snorted out a puff of smoke. But Tyke and his fellow Tyrogue's smirks didn't fade. "May I remind you he alone beat the crap out of FIVE of you? And you then took off like a crying little hatchling!" That caused the two Tyrogue's smirks to fade.

"Shut up!" he snapped back, "You're gonna eat those words after I kick his ass on the tournament!"

"But Tyrogue run when heal of poison," Loopy said as he raised an eyescale.

Flash chuckled at that. "Yeah, you weren't so damn tough when he was back in shape."

Tyke clenched his fist and shook it towards Flash. "We were out of shape too!" he shot back. "Lack of food does that!"

Now it was Flash's turn to smirk as she put a paw on her hip. "Sounds like an excuse to me. You know, I'm pretty sure you'll go down in one hit from Loopy." She turned and looked at Loopy, who seemed to look a little thoughtful at the Tyrogue pair.

"Hope Tyke eat well before fight. Be little fun if fight over fast.

Tyke's jaw dropped slightly as he shot a glare towards Loopy. "You can bet your ass it'll be over quickly. You'll lie face down on the mat before you know what hit you!"

"Yeah, he's been training lots, you know," the other Tyrogue said. "He's gonna win us some cash so we can buy some food to store, you know."

Flash's shoulders slumped down, almost unable to comprehend the stupidity. "That is just… If you had money to enter the tournament, why not save yourself the trouble and just go buy the food right away?"

"Because common sense is something that seems to be amiss among certain Pokémon." Flash looked over her shoulder to see Francis coming out from the house. He looked annoyed as he walked up to her and Loopy, keeping his focus at the two Tyrogue.

"Hey, dumbass," Tyke spat, pointing at Francis, "I win a few rounds and we're gonna have at least double the entry fee. And that means more food."

Francis frown stayed as he looked straight at the two Tyrogue. "What a well thought out plan," came his sarcastic reply, "now that you are finished with that, would you please vacate our premises?" he finished with a dismissing wave of his paw.

"You just came to trash talk, didn't you?" Flash interjected, smirking at them. "You're probably _really_ scared your first match's against Loopy." Francis put his paw on his forehead at Flash's attempt at dragging this on even further.

Tyke bit his lower lip. "That's a really stupid name, yanno!"

Flash shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Tyke is truly a name to fear."

"It's just a nick around my buddies!" he shot back, "you'd best hope nothing bad happens to you in your sleep. All of you. We know where you live!"

Loopy raised his fists when Tyke was having the fit, and didn't like the threats he was throwing out at them. "Tyke no hurt Flash. Want fight, fight after tourney."

"Are you quite finished?" Francis asked as he tugged his whisker. "Or does your strategy happen to consist of boring us with constant banter?" Before Tyke could respond, Francis continued, "Perhaps you should be more concerned about your backs instead?"

The two Tyrogue looked over their shoulders. Both their eyebrows rose when they saw what Francis had been referring to. It was Zilea, and she was walking at a steady pace towards them. The two quickly glanced at each other, then at Team Brawl, and then at the approaching Machop.

"Heh, I knew you two were up to something when you suddenly left the dojo like that," she told them with a chuckle.

Tyke raised his hands and took a step back from her, wanting to keep the distance. This closed the distance between him and Flash. "Wh-what do you want? Why don't you mind your own business?"

"Oh no, not you too!" Flash growled at the sight of her. She already had enough trouble with those two Tyrogue and their kind of payback or whatever they wanted.

Ignoring Flash, Zilea kept her attention to the two Tyrogue. "I kinda think it is a little bit of my business. You two seem like trouble makers on your spare time." She looked past them and smirked at Loopy. "I dunno what past you have with each other, but don't think I'm gonna let you rub anyone out of the tournament."

"Hey, lady, we weren't planning any of that," Tyke replied, still intent on keeping his distance from Zilea. He and his buddy took another step away from her. "Why don't you worry about that Meditite guy you're up against?"

Flash stepped forward and gave Tyke a good shove at his unprotected back. She knew it was a dumb revenge action from what had happened at Mt Steel, but she couldn't pass up that chance. She chuckled as Tyke hit the ground face first right in front of Zilea. "Hey, looks like someone just fell for you!" she quipped. Francis just put his paw on his forehead as a disapproving gesture of the bad pun.

Tyke's comrade spun around and snarled slightly at Flash. "Hey, you wanna start someth-" He stopped when he saw Loopy raising his fists. He quickly responded by backing away from the Machop, also sending Flash a glare.

"You little witch!" Tyke spat as he scrambled to his feet. He looked over his shoulder to send a piercing glare towards Flash with an urge to punch her face in. But just as he had fully turned around to lash out at her, an arm fully wrapped around his neck and pulled him back. He held onto the strong arm of Zilea's as he was hoisted up by her in the air. He flailed with his legs to try make her let go of him, but to no avail.

Zilea, while restraining Tyke with one arm, quickly stepped forward to seize the brief opportunity where Tyke's buddy wasn't paying attention to her. Before he knew it, he found himself having Zilea's other arm wrapped around his neck.

"Alright," Zilea started, looking at the two Tyrogue she held in their respective headlocks. They tried hitting her with their elbows, but she didn't seem to be much fazed by their blows. "How about you buzz off and mind_ your_ business instead?" She hugged both of them tighter to herself. "Or you two might face some unforeseen consequences after the tournament. Would you want that?"

Tyke kept struggling against Zilea's iron grip. "Hrrng, I'm gonna tell Spathi about this!" he managed to choke out.

Flash, Loopy and Francis were all looking at the spectacle. Flash was still grinning at the sight of those two Tyrogue being restrained like that, despite her not being too happy about Zilea being there. Francis had a thoughtful and disapproving look as he watched them, and Loopy just had a wide smile on his face, looking awed by Zilea.

"Zilea strong!" he cheered with a snicker. "Or maybe Tyke and Tyrogue weak?"

"Shut up!" Tyke spat back before he and his buddy were pressed closer to Zilea's chest.

Keeping her smirk at the two Tyrogue, she loosened the temporary squeeze to avoid injuring them. "Hey now, boys, I don't think Spathi would care much of what I'm doing now. Though I wonder what you two were gonna do with Loopy, hmm?"

The other Tyrogue struggled against Zilea's arm, trying to push it away. "Hey, lady, we'll be outta here if you let us go!" he offered. When she turned to stare directly at him, he felt a lump in his throat forming. "Uh, p-please?" he then piped up, looking past her piercing stare to give Tyke a hinting look. He quickly looked back at Zilea, afraid that breaking eye contact would cause her to get offended. While he knew she'd get in trouble for hurting other contestants before the tournament, it'd still hurt him right now if she decided to put on a strong squeeze.

"If you three will persist on acting like a bunch of jabbering troglodytes, would you please oust yourselves from here and continue with your argument elsewhere?" Francis spoke up, keeping a firm, annoyed stare at the three fighting types.

Zilea turned slightly and tossed the two Tyrogue away as she let go. "You heard the rat. Beat it, you two!" she snapped at them, raising her fists. The two Tyrogue scrambled to their feet and scurried off, but not before sending Flash one more glare.

After the two smaller fighting types had ran out of sight, Zilea turned to face Team Brawl again. "Well, that takes care of that!" she said proudly, smirking.

"Well? Why are you still here?" Flash asked, clenching her paws. Even though the Tyrogue were gone, just the sight of Zilea was grinding her temper.

Zilea gave an offended look at Flash and put her hands on her hips. "Gee, nice way to say thanks for ridding you those punks."

"As if that's a feat at all!" Flash spat back.

"Miss Zilea, if you do mind," Francis interjected before Flash could say anything more. "If you have no other business here other than getting those two rascals off our base, then would you please leave as well?"

Zilea looked down at Francis, and rolled her eyes. "Well, I was kinda about to tag along, you know. But Spathi was pretty uptight about showering and stuff," she explained, "made sure to shower enough to keep that tubby blubby's mouth shut."

"You still smell!" Flash snapped.

One of Zilea's hands slipped down from her hip as she tilted her head. She eyed Flash neutrally at first before her eye scales turned into a slight frown. "Alright, that's enough out of you!" she then said as she began advancing towards the Charmander, fists clenched.

Flash's frown quickly turned into a wide eyed fright. Seeing Zilea's eyes show anger towards her, she knew she had gone a bit too far. "Hey, wait I just-" she tried to defend herself before cutting herself off. That only made her speed up her advance significantly. In a quick rush of panic, she backed away from the approaching Machop.

Loopy also saw Zilea's change of demeanour and stepped in her path in front of Flash. "Zilea no be angr-" he said, trying to stop her. But Zilea quickly raised her hand to put it on his chest and shoved him aside with a swift push. Losing balance, Loopy tumbled backwards and fell down on the ground.

Before Flash could yell at Zilea at what she did, the Machop quickly dashed towards her and grabbed her by her neck with both hands. She quickly tried pulling Zilea's hands off her neck by grabbing her wrists, forgetting that she was easily overpowered by the Machop as she was hoisted up. In a desperate move, she tried kicking Zilea's stomach with her feet, but the fighting type didn't show any signs of being harmed at all.

"Miss Zilea, this is hardly necessary!" Francis exclaimed as Loopy got up.

Flash quickly realized that while being held by her neck, she could breathe without any trouble at all. At least that Machop wasn't trying to choke the life out of her, yet. "Let me go, damn it!" she cried at her, trying to kick at her chest.

While keeping the Charmander incapacitated, Zilea carried her towards the entrance of the shack. "Now you listen here, ya little fire breathing newt," she growled, keeping a stern stare into Flash's eyes, "I've had it up to here with your cute little remarks. And you know what? None of us are in the dojo, and you know what that means?" She pressed the Charmander to the rocky wall. "It means there'll be absolutely _no_ consequences in me beating you to a useless, wimpy pulp!" She dodged a swipe from Flash's claw.

"No hurt Flash, stop!" Loopy cried as he approached Zilea.

Francis darted in front of Loopy to halt his advance. "No, Loopy, do not initiate a fight!"

Flash inhaled to spew flames at the Machop, but was once again slammed against the rocky wall. "Go ahead, try it again! Try breathe fire at me one more time!" Zilea dared.

"Let me down!" Flash cried, going back to trying to pry Zilea's hands off her neck.

"Zilea, please no hurt Flash. Have fight other day! Flash say she show kiss!" he cried at her as he walked around the Rattata.

There was a quiet moment after Loopy had said the last sentence. Francis put his paw over his head again. Flash's pupils shrunk as she could feel her heart skip a few beats. Her scales on her cheek turned bright red as she felt the embarrassment wash over her once again. And Zilea's anger seemed to completely fade to a blank stare. The Machop, still keeping a firm grip around Flash's neck, slowly looked over her shoulder, and then back at Flash. She smirked.

Zilea looked past Flash's now angry glare and saw a small, convenient piece of rock that protruded out of the wall. Keeping her sly smirk, she grabbed Flash's sides and hung her on the wall by her scarf. "How about you hang around to see this," she quipped, causing Francis to clutch his forehead with his paw even harder at the obvious pun.

Flash flailed to find a way to unhook herself from the small rock ledge. "GRAAH! WHEN I GET DOWN FROM HERE I'LL-"

"Shut it," Zilea simply shot back, snapping her fingers to emphasize her point. She leaned against the wall Flash hung on and gave Loopy a side glance. "So, your little Flash here's gonna show ya a kiss?" she asked him, her smirk returning. Knowing that Flash was getting angrier and angrier was real entertainment for her.

Loopy got a bright smile on his face as he clasped his hands together. "Yes, but she little slow. Always say later," he told her. He then looked at Flash and raised an eyescale. "Flash okay?"

"NO I'M NOT OKAY! GET ME DOWN FROM HERE NOW!" Flash screamed, still flailing wildly to find any hope of getting down. Fortunately for her, hanging by the scarf wasn't interfering her breathing.

Loopy was about to walk up to Flash when Zilea quickly stepped up to him. "No hug now, Flash angry."

"Hey, Loopy, since your friend seems a bit busy, how about _I_ show you what a kiss is right now?" she suggested with a smile. She quickly looked over her shoulder to see Flash's turn red with utter rage. "It won't take long, she can wait," she assured.

Flash's eyes widened at the realization. "FRANCIIIS!" she screeched as steam shot out from her nostrils, "STOP STARING LIKE A SLACK JAWED IDIOT AND HELP ME DOWN NOW!" The Rattata shot her an offended glare before scurrying towards her.

Zilea rolled her eyes. "Yeah, don't mind her." She approached Loopy and before he could react, gave him a big enough hug to trap his arms to his sides. Feeling his struggle against the sudden hug, she neared her head to his. "Hey, it won't hurt."

With a nervous smile, Loopy looked into her eyes. "Kiss just big hug?" he asked her curiously. He felt a little uncomfortable with the female Machop's face that close to him, and with his arms being unable to move didn't help the matter really.

"My goodness, Miss Flash, you are heavy," Francis complained as he tried to give Flash leverage by standing on his hind legs and using his forepaws to push up her feet. Flash's response was to accidentally kick him in his face as she flailed. The kick sent him rolling away from her. "If you cannot refrain from kicking, you might as well stay where you are," he grumbled as he lay on his back.

Zilea adjusted her firm hug so that Loopy's arms embraced her slightly around her back. Still, feeling him struggle, she made sure to keep him restrained. "What? You think I'm too close?" she asked him quietly. "You know, you can break free if you want, unless you like it," she then said loud enough for Flash to hear.

Loopy blinked, keeping his nervous smile. "Kiss done? Flash very anger now and-" Zilea pressed her mouth against Loopy's, muffling the rest of his sentence in a big smooch. Loopy's eyes widened at the instant. He tried to pull his head away from Zilea's, but she just followed his movement.

Flash was at a loss for words. Even though she could breathe, she could get any words out except from gagging stutters. She felt Francis's paws pushing her feet to try unhooking her from the protruding rock. Mustering all her willpower to remain as collected as she could, she waited until Francis managed to provide enough leverage for her to get her scarf off.

Upon getting herself free, she fell onto Francis who was completely unable to hold her weight. "Ouch…" Francis uttered in pain as Flash scrambled to her feet.

Zilea spotted in the corner of her eye that Flash had gotten down and finished the kiss she was giving Loopy. She quickly proceeded to reaffirm her grip, loosening up the hug to quickly wrap her arm around Loopy's neck in a soft headlock. "And that, Loopy, is a kiss!" she cheerfully told him as she wiped her mouth with her free hand, keeping a sly look at Flash as well.

"Pfooh! Bleck! Yuck!" Loopy sputtered and spat. He didn't like what he had been through at all. He blew a raspberry towards the ground while he tried breaking free from Zilea's playful headlock.

Flash clenched both her paws and grit her teeth. She almost feared that she was gritting them so hard she'd risk cracking her own teeth. Seeing that smug grin she had on her face as she tugged Loopy closer to her side made her want to claw her scales off. She was willing to do anything to just wipe that grin off. Her rage was slightly quenched when she became aware of Loopy's reaction, But not much.

"What's the matter? You want another one?" Zilea gave Loopy a light noogie on his forehead, "I'm sure the Weakmander won't mind."

Flash could feel herself exploding with rage as she let out a trembling roar, smoke billowing out from her maw. "I AM GOING TO KILL YOUUU!" She made a dash towards the two Machop, aiming to give her a well-placed Scratch. Zilea rolled her eyes and let go of Loopy, shoving him away so she could endure the hit from the incoming Charmander.

When Flash was in range she swung her arm with all her might at the Machop's mid area; aiming for her head was more likely to end up in her dodging. The moment she felt her claws strike the scaled stomach, a blunt pain flared up in her paw as her attack bounced off Zilea's chest. She clutched her injured paw and hunched over, muttering something about stupid fighting types and other gibberish. Before she could recover, she felt a pair of hands picking her up by her sides, flipping her upside down.

Zilea giggled. "Was that an attack or were you just trying to tickle me?" She held Flash above her. "But it's my turn now!" She got ready to slam the Charmander into the ground.

Loopy ran up to her and grabbed Zilea's upper arms to pull her back. "No!" he yelled. The jerk caused the female Machop to drop Flash in surprise. "No fight! Zilea too strong!"

Right after Flash had hit the ground, she scrambled to her feet to lash out at her again, but Loopy was quick to get in between the two girls. "MOVE OUTTA THE WAY!" she yelled, trying to shove him aside. Loopy didn't let her push him out of the way, and remained impeding her path. He held her back so she wouldn't try attacking Zilea again.

"Enough fight!" He frowned at her briefly; he was no longer in the mood for Flash's yelling.

Zilea shrugged and smirked. "Well, it is getting kinda late," she admitted, "I'll beat you up some other day."

"GRAH! Run while you CAN!" flash spat as she was held back by her team mate. "Just get out of my sight!"

Zilea ignored Flash, but let out a brief chuckle as she looked at Loopy. "Seeya tomorrow, Loopy. Don't let that li'l Tyrogue rough ya up too bad." She waved goodbye to him, winking. Loopy didn't say anything back to her. "What? You want another kiss to get a little more talky?"

"No, no. No like kiss. Icky!" he promptly replied to her while still holding Flash back.

"I have a looming suspicion you are attempting to convince Loopy to forfeit his match against you," Francis assumed, having recovered slightly after Flash had fallen on top of him.

Zilea rolled her eyes. "Whatever floats your boat," she said dismissively as she began to walk away, aware of Flash glaring daggers at her back.

When the female Machop had left the base, Loopy finally let go of Flash. She flailed her arms as she got some distance from him, still seething with rage. Gritting her teeth, she spun around to look at both Loopy and Francis. "What are you waiting for?" she growled through her clenched teeth. "Get inside the house so I can cook up some damn dinner!"

Francis gestured Loopy to head inside. "As long as you refrain from turning said dinner into charcoal," he muttered.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear a single word! I CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE!" Flash yelled as her veins got more and more visible for every second. "Or else you can all sleep outside…" she then finished, growling through her clenched teeth.

* * *

After an uncomfortably silent dinner that had consisted of the fear of making even the slightest of noise that'd upset Flash, they had all gone to their respective beds. Loopy had given looks to flash, but Francis had been observant and nudged him every time to gesture him to be silent. Even Flash noticed that Loopy had been surprisingly quiet.

Sitting on her bed of hay, Flash looked towards Loopy to see if he was already sleeping. When she met his solemn look, she sighed. _"Can't believe he's been so quiet… maybe he took my threat too seriously?"_ She looked towards Francis, and saw that he was mostly pondering to himself. She figured he was probably planning how to set up whatever he was planning to do tomorrow.

"F-Flash?" Loopy finally spoke up. It was jarring how suddenly the silence was broken after it had been uncomfortably quiet for a lengthy time. Both Flash and Francis flinched before they looked at the Machop. Flash could see Loopy's slightly wary eyes as he looked at her, knowing that he suspected she'd yell at him again.

"…Yeah?" she replied sincerely, walking towards him. She tried to keep her approach slow so he wouldn't think she'd run up and hit him. "What is it?"

Loopy fidgeted a little. "Know Flash anger…" he mumbled, breaking eye contact with her to look away. "After Zilea do kiss… uhm.. .I want Flash know…"

"Okay, fine, so you like her because 'she was nicer to you'. Look, she acted like a jerk towards me and Francis!" Flash spat back.

"It is 'Francis and I', Miss Flash."

Flash looked over her shoulder and snarled. "Oh, shut up and don't butt in!" she snapped at him. She turned back to Loopy and saw that he had edged away from her after her outburst. She inhaled deeply. "…Look, she made a fool out of me, and I didn't like when she just kissed you like that. She is going to use that to her advantage, no doubt."

"Zilea be nice," Loopy replied as Flash rolled her eyes, "but no like kiss. Kiss icky," he then said as he blew a short raspberry to emphasize his point. Flash's frown lightened up a little upon hearing that. "Sorry bother Flash for kiss. Just curious."

Flash sighed, and sat down on Loopy's bed. She beckoned him to come closer to her when she saw him edge away more. "She didn't just kiss you. She outright smooched you. I wanted to claw her eyes out." Loopy tilted his head slightly. "It's just that you kept asking about kissing at the worst moments. It's supposed to be a bit more private, you know?"

"Smooch… sound silly," Loopy mused, causing Flash to put her paw on her forehead in exasperation. "But no know ask make Flash feel silly…"

Flash reached out with her arm and rested it around Loopy's shoulder when he was in range. "…It's fine. You didn't know," she told him softly. "A kiss is much shorter in case you wonder. It's kinda quick, if you know what I mean." She then frowned. "But don't do it on me ever, because if you do, I _will_ get very angry. Hugging is enough."

Loopy nodded. "Okay," he said, "but Zilea no let me st-EEH!" He was interrupted by flash's other paw pressing into his side, tickling him.

"Enough about that! I'm angry at her, not at you." She could still keep her arm over his shoulder, and realized he had humoured her brief tickle. "Kissing is what you do to someone you really like. That's all. Sure, we still like each other, but there are different ways you can like someone. The way you and I like each other is more of a friendship."

Loopy looked confused again.

"Agh… Francis, can you help me out?" Flash begged.

Francis looked up from his bed. "What Miss Flash is trying to explain is love."

"What is love?" Loopy asked him.

Francis paused for a while. "It is something complicated. When you grow older you will understand. I will give you this tip; do not talk too much about it in public. It is, as Miss Flash said, something better kept private."

"Understand," Loopy said.

"Good. Now you two get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day for all of us," he then advised before curling up to sleep.

Flash lowered her arm away from Loopy's shoulder and stood up. "Yeah, it's gonna be fun for you to fight tomorrow, right?"

Loopy smiled as he nodded. "Fun and exciting!" he exclaimed, yawning afterwards.

"Yeah," Flash agreed, cracking a smile, "Just… be careful around Zilea. Some can be nice, but when someone's too nice, they might be up to something."

"Enough, Miss Flash!" Francis uttered from his bed.

Flash rolled her eyes. She supposed Francis was right about her getting too tied to the subject of Zilea. "Meh… sure," she muttered before giving Loopy one more smile. "Night, Loopy," she said to him before going to her bed.


	38. I hate promises

_**Chapter XXXVIII: I hate promises…**_

Well, I hope I can speed things up eventually. It feels like as time passed I get more interested in character development… as if there was any to begin with.

I will be trying something very risqué in this chapter. I would appreciate whether this may or may not be a wise idea…

* * *

Flash's eyes fluttered open as she was waking up from an uncomfortable night's sleep. When her vision cleared, she realized that she rolled off her bed. That explained the slight aches in her back. She sat up and rested her back against the hay bed.

"Good morning, Miss Flash," Francis greeted cheerfully. Flash yawned and stretched her arms, hearing a few pleasing cracks in her joints. She rubbed her eyes and then saw the Rattata walking about in her house, dusting off walls, edges and making sure everything looked fine and dandy.

"Morning, Francis," Flash replied tiredly, smacking her lips. "Gee, you're busy," she then remarked.

Francis nodded once. "Indeed. Everything must look perfect for the traditional… well, I am afraid this is confidential," he said to her, keeping a neutral look at her. "I would greatly appreciate it if you remain silent about what I will use this base for."

Flash rolled her eyes. She had already agreed to let him use her house for whatever he was planning. She did hope he wasn't planning any ancient ritual. "Eh, it's fine. Just don't make a mess."

"Miss Flash!" came Francis offended outburst as he paused his cleaning. "What kind of Pokémon do you take me for?" His purple fur bristled as he sent Flash a glower.

Flash chuckled. "Heh, I was just asking," she replied as she stood up, looking around at how Francis had cleaned up. She suspected he had much more to do after that. "I trust that you'll keep this place tidy."

Francis picked up the feather duster and resumed cleaning. "Or what is left of it," he huffed. Flash rolled her eyes while Francis was humming a cheery tune for himself. She looked towards Loopy's bed to see that it was empty. She sighed; had he gone out by himself again?

"Francis, did you see Loopy while you were cleaning?" she asked him. The Rattata didn't take his eyes of the table he was dusting.

"He was not around when I woke up," he informed her, "he may have gone outside to train. After all it is a tournament, and he does seem excited about it."

Flash turned to head out through the doorway. She could use the fresh air anyway; she had had a bad dream about being beaten up by that jerk Zilea. As if yesterday hadn't been too much already. She wasn't too concerned about that Tyrogue Tyke's threat; if they would try poisoning them with poisonous thorns they'd all wake up right away and kick their sorry asses.

When she stepped outside she saw there was not cloud in the sky. Despite being greeted by the warm morning sunrays, it was also a little chilly. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling the cold morning air enter through her nostrils. It wasn't comfortable, but it was a way for her to wake up. Better than being woken up by having water poured onto her.

When she opened her eyes, Loopy was nowhere to be found. She looked around briefly, trying to see if she could spot him nearby. _"Huh, where could he be?"_ she wondered. This got her worried. Why would he take off so suddenly like that without telling her? Was he still considering her suggestion about ending the Rescue Team the other day? She knew she had agreed to one last mission after the tournament was done. Or worse, what if Zilea had snuck inside and kidnapped him in the middle of the night?

She walked towards her mailbox to see if he was in the surrounding area, but there weren't any signs of him. She turned around; she had to tell Francis about this. Maybe he knew something. But the moment she turned around she saw someone she absolutely didn't want to see.

"Morning, Flashie. Were you looking for me?" Don suavely assumed as he was resting his elbow against Flash's shack. The Charmeleon smirked and winked at her. He didn't seem angry at all, so Flash quickly figured out he had probably not been around to see Loopy. Had that been the case she'd be in for a verbal treatment from him.

"D-Don, what are you-"

"Just in the area, figured I could visit you," he interrupted her with a shrug, "I remembered you had started that Rescue Team. Explains why you've been busy here and there."

Flash gulped; it seemed he was already on to her. "Y-yeah, you know, debts and stuff," she replied. Why did he have to be here at this time? Why couldn't he have chosen some other day to show up? She saw him look into her eyes, as if he was reading her mind. She had to come up with something quickly. "My partner's Francis!" she blurted out, suspecting he'd ask the question. Seeing him narrow his eyes, she added: "He's a Rattata!"

The Charmeleon's frown faded away as he stood straight, not leaning against the wall anymore. "Well then, are things going alright in your team?" he then asked her while he approached her slowly.

Flash, noticing his movements, edged away. "Sure, it's going alright," she replied, "helps me keep from stealing, and it also helps me from being reminded about _you!_" she spat at him. She tripped over her feet and landed on her bum.

"Aww, why are you being like that, Flashie?" he said to her softly. When he was in range he reached out with his hand to help Flash stand up.

Flash slapped his hand away. "Because you're a jerk!" she shot back as she scrambled to her feet. But before she could get any distance, her wrist was grabbed firmly by Don. "Let go! Why don't you go back to your other girlfriends?"

Don let go of her wrist and put his clawed hand on his hip. "Apparently they have more important things to attend to," he told her, glancing away as the frown seemed to return. "Juggling between them is fun, but now they're apparently more interested in that stupid tournament that's coming up."

"So you came here in hopes of any 'fun' with me?" Flash retorted, clenching her paws.

The Charmeleon looked back at her, a smirk forming. "You know, I always liked you the most, really." Flash knew he was just saying that to trick her. "We really had something back then," he continued, approaching her some more. "But I guess this rescue thing really does take your mind off me. Unless you met someone else…"

Flash didn't back away, unable to take her eyes off Don's. "No. You'd have known if I had," she mumbled back. Don reached out with his clawed hand again and rested it on her shoulder. She could see a warm smile on his lips. She knew he wasn't going to leave anytime soon.

"How about we meet this Francis friend of yours?" he suggested, rubbing his claws carefully against Flash's shoulder.

"S-sure," she agreed, fidgeting slightly when he felt his claws on her shoulder. If she could get him inside he wouldn't at least spot Loopy should he come back. She shoved Don's hand away. "I guess it wouldn't hurt." Despite the fact that Loopy wasn't around, she was still nervous he'd show up.

Flash led Don inside, making sure to stay slightly behind. To ensure the Charmeleon wouldn't mind, she put her paw on his back to be a little more insistent. She saw him look over his shoulder and smirk. "Don't get your hopes up, you're just gonna say hi to him and then you can move on with your own business," she hissed. He just rolled his eyes.

"Back already, Miss Flash?" Francis said when he heard the two come in again, "did you-" He stopped as he turned around to see that she hadn't returned with Loopy. He eyed the Charmeleon, sizing him up. "Well, you are certainly not Loopy, I say," he then stated. Flash could feel her heart jump up in her throat.

Don's eyescales rose in confusion of Francis's statement, but kept his smirk. "No, I'm not exactly loopy or anything," he replied.

Flash frantically gestured towards Francis to shut up by moving her paw across her mouth. She tried to mouth to him not to mention the actual Loopy to Don. Seeing Francis look at her, slightly confused, it seemed he was getting what she was going at.

"So you've already been saying things about me, Flash?" Don assumed as he looked over his shoulder. He raised an eyescale when he noticed her tense demeanour. "I swear you look a little bit redder than before."

"A-am I?" Flash quickly replied. She was glad Don hadn't caught her gestures towards Francis. Still, she had the constant feeling of worry that Don would see through her. "I m-mean, sure, I'm a bit nervous since you're meeting the team."

Don chuckled and put his claw on Flash's shoulder. "Well, it's not much of a team with only one partner, is it?" He spotted the hay bed in the corner of his eye. Flash followed his eyes and could feel herself hiccup with fear. "I see you're already setting up for a third member, aren't you?"

"M-maybe, yeah." She couldn't get her uneasiness off her. She realized she was fidgeting and looking around frantically. Her eyes focused on Francis, who had stopped minding them and resumed to his cleaning. At least he played along her act. While her breathing remained at the increased pace, she hoped that Don would just leave already.

Don moved her shoulder to get her attention. She let out a yelp in surprise.

"Hey, hey, is there something wrong?" he asked softly with a smile this time. It was almost as if it was a caring smile. "You're shaking as if you got licked by a Haunter." He let go of her shoulder and moved his claws towards her cheek to stroke it.

Flash tried to come up with something to say that'd make him leave, but her fear of him realizing Loopy lived here was overcoming her. She had to do something. She felt a shiver down her spine as Don's smooth claws made contact with her cheek scales. If he wouldn't leave on his own, she'd have to do something she'd regret.

"I… n-no there's nothing wrong. There, you've met Francis, now c-can you leave?" she blurted.

Don just shook his head, eyes closed. "Not until you tell me what's wrong," he replied, his smile suddenly gone. "Is there someone that's after you? Someone giving you a hard time?"

Flash knew she had no choice; she could see in his now stern eyes that he wouldn't leave until she'd fess up about what was troubling her. She knew she could blame the Scyther in Sinister Woods, but then that'd cause him to come back more regularly, if not even later this day. "N-no, I mean…" she said without thinking. She cursed herself for even replying like that.

"Then what is it?" he inquired, his claws still caressing her cheek.

"Can't you just leave?" she spat at him.

Don's eyes narrowed. "You really want me to leave, don't you?" he growled. "But I won't until you tell me."

Taking a deep breath, Flash made her decision. She knew she'd hate herself for it and that Francis wouldn't let her live it down. "…I…I…" She swallowed once. "K-kinda g-got to l-like you again…" she told him as she grabbed his clawed hand to lower it from her cheek. She could feel her stomach churn at her realization what she had said.

Don blinked at first, and then smiled. "I knew you couldn't resist my Charmeleon charm," he replied, lowering his gaze towards Flash's paws. "You wanna have some fun for today? I'm sure the other gals wouldn't mind since they're busy, as I said."

Flash gulped. "I m-meant I just got to like you, not your other girlfriends," she said quickly before getting pulled into an embrace by the larger Pokémon. She realized she was trembling less once she felt his claws softly rubbing against her back. She was wondering whether he really liked her for real or if it was just another act so he could get to first base.

"I'd break up with them if it meant I could be with you," he whispered as he neared his head to her.

Flash knew he was lying; there was no way he could stay with one female for more than a week. She felt him reaffirm his embrace so she could freely move her arms. Not wanting him to get suspicious, she returned the embrace. "Really?" she asked, trying to keep up her act.

Don closed his eyes. "Yes, really." He raised his hand and held it against the back of Flash's head.

Flash embraced Don and rested her head against his chest. It was just now she realized that her anxious jittering had completely gone away. She felt almost safe her her head against his warm scales. She closed her eyes and drew along sigh. If she was to develop actual feelings for him again, she'd hate herself when he'd eventually cheat on her. And then there was the incident a few days ago. She really wanted to slap him for that, despite not being in the best position to do so at the moment.

She felt Don's clawed hand slide its way from the back of her head to under her chin. She looked up to see him closing in to kiss her. "Wait!" She quickly put her paw in front of his mouth to stop his advance. He gave her a look of disappointment. "Look, I… now's not the time. I need to… you know, do rescues and such."

Don let out a sigh and slowly let go. "Comes with the job, I guess," he muttered, looking away.

Flash felt relieved upon being let go. Finally he'd leave so she could attend with her own business.

"But," he then said, glancing at her with a smirk, "how about a date tonight by the town square?" he requested.

Taken aback, Flash took a step away from him. She knew she couldn't just say no after how she had behaved towards him. "Well… s-sure. What time?" she asked.

Don put a claw to his lower jaw. "Around when the sun's about to set," he replied as he started walking towards the door. "Or slightly earlier perhaps. Sunsets can be beautiful, you know." Just as he passed her, he leaned forward to quickly press his scaly lips to her cheek in a swift kiss.

Flash yelped and quickly swung her paw at him. It was quickly caught by the stronger clawed hand of Don's. "DON!" she yelled.

The Charmeleon chuckled and let go of her paw. "Couldn't resist," he admitted. "You're getting stronger, though. Keep it up and you might evolve, Flashie." And with that, he turned around to leave. Before he left, he winked at her.

Flash huffed as he left, and then turned to face Francis who was now giving her a judging look. "What?"

"I do hope you are perfectly aware that this will have unforeseen consequences."

"Whatever… it'll just be one quick date," she retorted. "And besides, he didn't want to leave. Had to come up with something."

Francis narrowed his eyes. "A foolhardy plan. Do you even have feelings for that Don fellow?"

"No, I don't! He's a stupid jerk!" she quickly spat back at him. "I didn't want him to know about Loopy. I knew getting him to a date would get his mind off of that. He has some problem with fighting types; he don't like them."

Francis tugged his whisker. "You mean 'doesn't'," he corrected, earning a blazing glare from Flash. "I do see your point in trying to avert his attention, but you have to ask yourself if that really is a wise idea."

Flash clenched her paws. "If I know him right he'll just come up with an excuse not to see me after tonight… And besides, why don't you mind your own damn business?" She snorted out a puff of grey smoke out of her nostrils to make her point. Seeing the Rattata roll his eyes, she continued. "I suppose Don's far away enough now, so I'm getting back out to look for Loopy."

"You are aware of your idea to disband the Rescue Team, are you not?" Francis reminded her as she was heading outside. He saw her stop. "Although I see you could use some spare time with him," he then remarked.

Flash spun around, baring a furious snarl. "You watch your mouth, or I'll see to it that my claws will pierce your gums!" And with that, she stormed out.

Francis just huffed and went back to cleaning.

* * *

Upon entering the small town, Flash wondered if Loopy had already snuck into the Dojo. She wasn't aware of exactly _when_ he was supposed to be there before the tournament begun. She'd hate to realize he'd be late and miss it all. One thing she was looking forward to was to see him beat that jerk Tyke to the ground.

She lost herself in the thoughts of how she should handle the date with Don. She'd have to keep it as brief as she could; what would Loopy think if he assume she was quitting the Rescue Team for the Charmeleon that beat him up a few days ago? She hoped that he'd have to rest after all the fighting, so he'd at least go to sleep earlier.

Still, she knew that if she was to watch Loopy during the fighting tournament, she had to make sure to stay clear out of Don's sight. Heck, she even had to stay out of his sight most of the day itself unless she wanted to end up explaining why she wasn't on a mission. While she could pull a fast one by saying there weren't any missions available, that'd only lead to him wondering why she didn't pay him a visit earlier instead.

"There you are!" a familiar voiced shouted. Flash quickly recognized the voice as Kangaskhan's and turned toward the Kangaskhan Storage building. She saw an upset looking Kangaskhan standing by the side of it, gesturing Flash to come over. "You have something to explain. Now." She was already tapping her foot impatiently on the ground.

"What, you've seen Loopy?" Flash quickly asked as she approached the large Pokémon. Kangaskhan said nothing as she crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at Flash. "Did anything happen to him?" Flash proceeded to ask. Kangaskhan broke eye contact with the Charmander to roll her eyes. She walked around the corner of the storage where the back entry door was. Flash followed, although not really sure if she'd get another verbal lashing from the storage owner.

"Is this some kind of a practical joke?" There was a tense tone in her voice as she awaited Flash to round the corner as well.

Flash unawareness was answered the moment she saw what Kangaskhan was referring to. She saw Loopy sitting next to the door. He waved towards her and smiled.

"Hi, Flash!" he greeted, "fix door but Kashkhan angry still."

Flash realized how events had gone through. Loopy had apparently gone up early to fix the door he tore out a few days ago and had wanted to fix it. While she was angry that he hadn't told her beforehand. When she turned her attention towards the door to see what he had done, she instantly realized why Kangaskhan was so upset.

The door was upside-down. And by the looks of it, it had been forcefully jammed into its place, unable to be opened.

"Well?" Kangaskhan crossed her arms. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Flash bit her lower lip, trying to hold back a grin that was about to form after seeing the door. As if piercing the mailbox through the pole wasn't enough. "Well, uh, you see, Loopy just wanted to help," she tried explaining.

Kangaskhan took a powerful step forward, causing the ground to shake slightly. "Help me with what? Being unable to run my storage?" Her voice was getting louder for ever sentence as her stern gaze sharpened. "While I do appreciate that you paid back all the Poké to compensate for the items you stole, this takes it to a whole new level! I have gotten complaints from other Rescue Teams because they haven't been able to get their items, for something THAT IS OUT OF MY CONTROL!"

"Why didn't you fix the door yourself?" Flash retorted, backing away. Her urge to grin had already faded.

Kangaskhan's eyes widened out of suppressed rage. You wouldn't believe how hard it's been to find someone to get the door back to its usual state." The words weren't loud, but Flash could easily hear they were tense. "One does not simply put the door back in place, I'll have you know," she informed her, clenching her paw. Flash could swear she was seconds before punching a hole through the wall.

"Door no hard open!" Loopy said as he got to his feet. Before Kangaskhan had time to let loose a verbal lashing on him, Loopy grabbed a hold of the handle and pulled the door open in one quick yank. The result of pulling the door open so forcefully was the left half of the door being torn off. Loopy's assuring smile slowly went to a wide eyed stare of shock when he realized he was holding the half piece of the door in his hand.

Flash bit her lower lip again. To see Loopy realizing his rash mistake he had just done was getting priceless, but knowing that laughing would cause Kangaskhan to explode on the two of them, she tried her best no to let out any laugh.

Kangaskhan's arms dropped down as she stared at the now ruined door, flabbergasted at what the Machop had done. "Y….you…. you…door…" she managed to utter as her claws slowly clenched into powerful fists. Her arms began trembling with the urge of wanting to punch Loopy's head off. She bared her gritting teeth, breathing through them at an increasing rate.

"Sorry, sorry, no mean crash door!" Loopy apologized as he dropped the door on instinct. " Kangy no angry be, please. Try help! No want door broke!" He looked genuinely worried about Kangaskhan's increasing rage. He looked down at the broken door and then back up at Kangaskhan.

Kangaskhan's anger suddenly went disappeared as her shoulders slumped down. She looked down at the ground and appeared to be silently counting to ten. Her snarl faded away as well as her claws unclenched. She drew a long sigh before she looked Loopy dead in the eye. "Maybe it's best if you leave." Her voice was very tense, but controlled. "This day can't possibly get any worse."

Loopy broke the stare and looked down at the broken door. "…Yes, we leave…" he mumbled.

"Look, I'll try to pay back for the door somehow!" Flash tried to assure, but was met with Kangaskhan pointing away with her claw dismissingly. She knew it'd be better idea to comply. "Alright, let's go, Loopy. You don't wanna be late."

"...Kay-o," he replied as they began to leave the storage building. He looked over his shoulder to see Kangaskhan picking up the broken half of the door, trying to sort out the mess.

Flash lightly smacked him upside the back of his head. "That was really stupid!" she hissed at him as they walked towards the Dojo.

"Try help. No want Kashkhan be sad or anger of door," he said back, not acknowledging the smack at all.

Flash looked at him, and then looked ahead towards the dojo. "You could've at least told me before you went there."

Loopy's shoulders slumped a little. "Want Kaskhan surprise," he mumbled.

The Charmander said nothing. Despite being upset with him for what he did, she was also aware that thanks to him doing that, Don hadn't seen him. She didn't know whether to tell Loopy about his visit or not, but the longer she could keep him and Don away from each other, the better. Flash could almost see it in front of her how everything would turn out. Loopy'd do kinda well in the tournament, they'd split the winnings, she could pay Kangaskhan off to help fix the door, and he'd join Team Juvens. It was perfect.

"Well… you're excited for the tournament?" she asked, trying to move on with the subjects. She'd rather see him a bit more cheery than feeling constantly guilty of what he did.

Loopy face brightened. "Yes, very!" he replied, punching the air twice. "Will fun be."

Flash chuckled. At least that seemed to cheer him up a bit. "Yeah, I'll be rooting for you."

"What be rooting?" he asked, tilting his head.

Flash put her paw on her forehead, sighing. "It means cheering, kinda," she told him. They continued onwards towards the dojo.

* * *

Upon reaching the Makuhita Dojo, Flash and Loopy saw that the front door was locked. On the big door they could see a note saying: _"Tournament starts at noon. Participants enter by the back door."_ Flash looked at the note, but was not sure what the time really was. She could hear a lot of activity going on inside, but it sounded mostly like things being moved and such.

She gestured towards Loopy to follow her around the corner. She hoped they weren't late. What an embarrassment that would be if they were. The building itself was big, so she quickened up the pace to ensure that they'd be there on time.

"Flash hurry?" Loopy wondered as he kept up with her pace.

"I don't want you to be late. Who knows what Spathi will say? Or yell?" she said back to him, sounding a little bit worried. She really didn't want to be at the receiving end of that Makuhita's rants again. They both reached the back door and saw an Alakazam standing next to it. Flash knew the Psi Pokémon was aware of their presence, even though he looked like he was staring into a distant. She glanced towards Loopy and saw he was staring with bewilderment at the yellow-brown psychic.

"If you must know," the Alakazam suddenly spoke up, his voice being very low and slightly menacing, "These spoons are for aiding in control of my psychic abilities." Flash quickly put two and two together and realized the Alakazam had read Loopy's mind, thus answering the question he was going to ask. Then again, it was slightly understandable. She herself always found it weird why a Pokémon would carry a pair of spoons.

Loopy, however, jumped back, raising his fists. "What? I no ask question!" he blurted. "Me just wonder and-"

"I answered you wondering thought," the Alakazam firmly replied, narrowing his eyes.

Flash stepped in front of Loopy to try diverting the psychic. "Look, we just came here for the tournament." She quickly assumed that this Pokémon had been assigned to identify the participants of the tournaments.

"Name?" he simply asked. Loopy looked over Flash's shoulder, not really feeling trusting towards the larger psychic. He eyed him with great suspicion. The Alakazam sighed and rolled his eyes. After giving Loopy a quick straight on stare into his eyes, he gave a nod. "There is no need to feel any fear, Loopy, I have been tasked to control so no false contestants enter." His eyes glowed a faint blue as the door opened by itself. "Go on, you don't want to be late for Spathi's review of the rules, do you?"

Loopy stepped forward, not being as suspicious towards the psychic. "Know rules. Remember," he said, still not sure if he could pass him so he could go into the door.

"Come on, Loopy, get in there. Maybe there was something you didn't catch." Flash gave him a light push from behind to encourage him to pass the Alakazam. He still seemed reluctant, but didn't resist too much. As she passed the Alakazam, she gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry if you took offense."

The Alakazam let off a hearty chuckle. "Ohohoho… I know innocent curiosity when I see it. It would be most unbecoming of a Rescue Team member to take offence for such a minor assumption." For a brief moment, he looked a little bit amused. "It is rather common for fighting types to be suspicious of us psychic types. It's in their nature."

The left side of Flash's mouth curled up into a smirk. "Heh, yeah, kinda like water and ground for me, right?" she replied as Loopy headed inside. Casting a quick glance at him, she waved. "Alright, good luck now, Loopy!" she called as he waved back to her with a smile. The Alakazam closed the door after Loopy, still looking down at Flash.

"What?" she wondered, "It's not as if I was going to try and sneak inside or anything." She didn't like the studying gaze the psychic was giving her.

"Your father is quite concerned about you," he simply told her, his gaze not leaving her.

The realization hit her like a brick. That Alakazam was Horatio, the leader of Team ACT. That team was a gold ranked team, and _the_ most recognized team in this region. Flash knew them as much as the other townsfolk did. All the tales of seemingly nigh impossible rescues they had done, how they had helped preventing the ever increasing natural disasters.

"What of it?" Flash snapped suddenly, getting defensive, "It's none of your business!" She knew it was probably not the smartest thing to snap at an Alakazam like that, but she was slightly using the fact that Horatio wouldn't lash out at her with any psychic attacks.

Horatio's eyes narrowed just slightly. "I am aware that Ignatius and you aren't on the best of terms, but do keep in mind I am also aware that you have been eluding him for a lengthy time."

"Whatever! I don't want anything to do with him! I'm not gonna be around and have him tell me what to do!" she exclaimed, her tail burning brighter for every word. "Or is he going to try to give me some lectures about Rescue Teaming? Well you can tell him I'm about to quit after one last mission! I got my debts sorted out already!"

The Alakazam shook his head and sighed. "So, you are telling me you formed a Rescue Team solely to earn money, did you not?"

"Yeah? What of it?" she spat back at him, "If you're going to preach to me about 'being in it for the money', then you can take it to Kangaskhan. She and Persian made me do it!"

Horatio stared at her dead on. "A Rescue Team's main concern is for their clients' best, to help others out in these times where natural disasters seem to be more common as we speak. Unfortunately this spawns bad eggs that…" He halted in his ramble when he noticed something. "Are you mimicking me?"

"Do you really need to ask?" Flash replied after having been caught in her act. She felt it was weird that that Alakazam had to ask these rhetorical questions.

"Perhaps you would rather have me point Ignatius to the direction where you currently live, then?"

Flash's eyes widened at the threat. She instinctively took a step away from Horatio. "Look, no, just don't. I really don't want to deal with him."

Horatio rolled his eyes. "Nonsense. You will have to deal with it inevitably," he firmly said back to her. "Now be off with you. You wouldn't want to miss out on seeing your Rescue Team member fight in that tournament, would you?"

Flash kept an angry glare at the Alakazam. She knew she could do nothing to stop him from telling her father about her whereabouts. "Yeah, yeah…" she muttered as she turned to leave. A new feeling surged through her body, a feeling of dread. She knew it was inevitable that her father would pay her a visit soon.

"One more thing, Flash," Horatio's voice called out to her, sounding rather agitated. Flash looked over her shoulder to look at him. "My spoons. Would you please hand them to me?"

The Charmander's gaze slowly went from the Alakazam to her paws, where she saw she was holding a spoon in each paw. "Oh… I… it was an accident, I didn't-"

"Simply amazing," Horatio mused as he used his psychic powers to lift the pair of silver spoons from Flash's paws. The spoons glowed with a faint blue light as they hovered in the air, making their way towards Horatio's clawed hands. "I do have to admit your peculiar talent of pilfering items closely held by other Pokémon."

Flash rolled her eyes. "I dunno, it just happens without me noticing it." She kicked the ground out of restlessness. "It has come in handy sometimes," she added to justify her annoying habit that happened from time to time.

Horatio just nodded, keeping his eyes peeled on his pair of spoons should Flash somehow snag them from him without noticing. "Do make sure you return the things you happen to steal and there will be fewer consequences," he advised.

Flash shrugged. "I guess," she muttered. She sighed faintly and glanced away again. Horatio seemed to have a point after all. It was just that she didn't like the angry Pokémon berating her over something she really didn't have control over. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to your duty," she then said to him, earning a nod from him. With heavy steps, she walked away, a little deep in thought about her father.

* * *

"Hey!" Flash was snapped out of her thoughts as she wandered the town square. She looked around and spotted a familiar Pichu waving at her. "Why're ya looking so down, buddy? You're a bit rich too after that mission yesterday, yanno?"

Flash saw the sprightly Pichu Zapi walk up to her, keeping his face as cheery as he could. "I was… thinking about things," she told him. "And besides, most of that share we got was used to pay back a debt."

"Well, you know how the saying goes. 'He who is in debt is not free'…. Or something like that. So you can consider yerself a free Charmander, right?" Zapi walked up to Flash and gave her a light nudge with his elbow, although it looked a bit awkward considering his short arms. Still, it was a friendly gesture.

Flash half grinned back at the Pichu, flinching slightly after having been nudged. "I guess," she muttered. The slight grin then widened to a full. "You know, you're right," she then admitted, putting her paw on the Pichu's head to ruffle his fur a little bit. Zapi had a point. She did feel a bit freer when she thought about it. To not be under Kangaskhan or Persian's pressure to get that money.

"Hey, quit it!" Zapi yapped, slapping Flash's paw off his head. "Don't treat me like a li'l kid." His ears twitched slightly as Flash withdrew her paw. Zapi on the other hand huffed. "Eh, sorry for snapping like that. Dun like when some assume I'm just a runt because of my size. I'm a rescuer too, dammit!"

"Well, you did show those Poochyena after all," Flash acknowledged.

"Yep, I can't wait 'til I evolve. Then I'm gonna use some of that money to buy myself a Thunder stone to be a Raichu. No one's gonna make fun of my size after that!" Zapi rubbed his paws excitedly, complete with a childishly evil grin. His ear suddenly twitched. "HEY! Get yer paws offa my scarf!" he suddenly yelled out as he grabbed a hold of his scarf that Flash had taken off his ear.

Flash let out a startled gasp and quickly let go of the Pichu's scarf. "Oh, how… sorry it just happened!" she excused. That was twice this day she'd accidentally stolen something. Maybe Horatio did have a point. What if she'd end up in debt again? And if she had disbanded the team how would she convince Loopy to reform the Rescue Team?

"Eh, I guess it's alright since I caught ya in the act," Zapi muttered as he tied the scarf around his ear. "Don't go touchin' it again, alright?"

"ARR!" a familiar gruff voice barked. Flash looked over to see both Dieter and Inza approaching. "Ye lassy scoundrel be thieving again, no?" the Totodile accused, waving his wooden sabre at Flash.

Flash rolled her eyes. "Not now, Ditter, not in the mood for this," she grumbled.

"It be DIETER!" he retorted, not caring what Flash said. "Be this the thanks of fattening ye wallet?" He swung his sword in front of Flash's face several times to make his point.

Flash sighed loudly, repressing the urge to straight up chomp down on the wooden toy and shattering it I front of that moron. "Yeah, yeah… sorry about that. Cool down your jets, will you?" she replied. Seeing how Team Juvens were around she decided to ask them what she was planning. "By the way… I was talking with Loopy earlier about something…

"Where is your matey?" Dieter interrupted, seeming to have accepted Flash's haughty apology, "Is he feelin' ill today?"

Flash let out a quiet grumble, not liking to be interrupted. "Well, he's off to the fighting tournament and-"

"Cool!" Zapi exclaimed as he hopped up onto the Totodile's head. "I'd really like ta see how he does in that tournament! It starts pretty soon, doesn't it?" he assumed as Dieter tried to shake him off him.

"Get off, matey! No time for that now!" he barked, managing to grab a hold of Zapi. He pulled the Pichu firmly off his head and dropped him on the ground. "ARR, I shall have ye walk the plank for that!"

Inza put her claw on Dieter's shoulder. "Hey, we're rich, h'w 'bout we h've some fun and w'tch the tourney?" she suggested. "Th't okay with you?" she then asked Flash.

She shrugged; she would probably not mind some company watching the tournament. She then gave a nod as a smile came forth on her face. "Yeah, if you can spare the time, that is. Francis is up to important stuff back at the base… so, yeah, you can help me cheer for Loopy!"

"Of course!" Dieter shouted, raising his wooden sabre to point it at the sky. "We have plenty of spare time thanks to the booty we found and tharfore can spare a day of working for arr plesures!"

"…sounds a bit unorthodox…" Zapi muttered.

"Gah, nonsense! There be many otharr Rescue Teams that will be busy!" he rebutted.

Flash's smirk remained. At least she could use a little company. "It's really nice of you, guys." She was about to ask them about Loopy joining their team but felt no was not really the time. There was the risk of _them_ starting to accuse her of having used Loopy. And that was something she really, _really_ didn't want to deal with. Not today.

"Well, I guess we better get some seats then," Flash suggested.

Both Zapi and Inza gave Flash a funny look. "You haven't been to that tournament before?" they both asked. "It's seldom packed, and you pretty much can come and go whenever you want. Though the earlier you get there the less you have to worry about getting a bad spot."

Flash didn't know of this since she hadn't really given much of a care of that fighting tournament. It was just fighting types trying to prove themselves. Sure, she could earn a few extra Poké if Loopy performed well, and there was the chance of him meeting up with someone that'd know him. "Oh…. Yeah…" She looked at Dieter. He seemed to be slightly unaware as well.

"Well then, mateys!" he exclaimed, "While we await the event, let us have some rum and rusks!"

Flash blinked as Zapi approached her. The Pichu gestured her to bend down so he could whisper something to her.

"He means some light Oran juice. I have no idea what this rum is," he told her. Flash just grinned.


	39. Time for tournament!

_**Chapter XXXIX: Time for tournament!**_

A/N: Again, apologies for being such a slowpoke in writing this.

Either way, enjoy.

* * *

The audience of the tournament was smaller than Flash had expected. Still it was large enough to fill the Dojo with a constant loud mumble coming from all the spectators. Zapi had managed to get her and Team Juvens some good seats in the middle front row where they seemed to have a good view of the ring in the centre.

They sat down on the long flat logs that served as benches and tried to make themselves as comfortable as they could get. Flash wished they had brought something softer to put on their seats, but this would have to do. Due to her tail flame, she had been instructed to keep her tail close to herself to prevent setting anything on fire.

"So, when are they starting?" Flash asked Zapi who sat next to her. She was already getting impatient staring at the empty ring, but she was also feeling a little worried. What if Don would somehow spot her being in here?

"Well," Zapi began as he kept an attentive stare at the arena, "It should in a few minutes, really. Spathi probably has lost his script again or something."

Dieter stood up and cupped his paws in front of his mouth. "ARR, WHY BE YE WAITING ALL DAY?" he shouted, only to be promptly pushed down by an annoyed Nidoking from behind.

"Keep it down, loudmouth," he growled. The Totodile sat down and crossed his arms, grumbling.

Flash chuckled. At least she wasn't the only impatient one. "So, since all of you have been at this tournament before, you know anything about the rules, or something?" she proceeded to ask Zapi.

Zapi reached for the small bag he had with him and pulled out a rolled up sheet of paper. "Lesse… this month's the "Free Style Knockdown" rule set. As it says here, wins are determined after a ten second countdown after being knocked down. No technical knockouts, though, and no submissions or pins." He skimmed through the rules one more time to make sure he read it thoroughly.

"Huh, sounds like it's in Loopy's favour, then," Flash replied, "unless he gets literally thrown out of the ring. He's kinda small compared to some of the other contestants."

"Oh, throwing someone out of the ring is illegal," Zapi pointed out. "Probably because of that incident with the Blaziken throwing that Makuhita into the audience. Spathi was not gonna have any more of that kind. Only kind of throws allowed are slams or into the ropes."

Dieter slapped the Pichu's back, trying to take his mind off the grumpy Nidoking in the row behind him. "Zapi, me matey, you have the roster sheet?" he asked him. Zapi shot him a glare and flipped through another piece of paper. The Totodile promptly snatched it out from his paws and started reading through it.

Zapi turned to Flash. "It's his first time as well, had to convince him some to even consider watching. I guess Loopy participating helped."

"How come you like watching?" Flash asked.

Zapi scratched his ear. "Well, it's fun to see others kick some ass, and I guess I could learn something by watching."

"You w'sh you c'ld p'rticipate as well, don't you?" Inza pointed out, leaning back to get eye contact with Zapi since Dieter sat in between the two.

Zapi sighed as his shoulders and ears slumped. "Yeah, I kinda do…" he admitted, "figured it'd be fun to try."

"Really?" Flash said with a touch of doubt in her voice, raising her eyescale. "Someone even _pokes_ you and you'll fall over." Flash felt a small paw punch her side notably hard. She winced at the sudden hit and then shot Zapi a glare. "What the hell?" She turned to see the smaller Pokémon rubbing his paw, returning her glare with his own.

Before Zapi could give Flash a verbal lashing, a loud voice boomed. "MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION?" It was Spathi, holding an old fashioned megaphone in his hands. The loud mumble in the dojo quieted down significantly. "WELCOME TO THE MONTHLY SPATHI FIGHT OUT!" he loudly announced. "THE FIRST FIGHT WILL START SHORTLY!" He lowered the metallic voice enhancer and left the ring. He gestured towards a Wartortle wearing a bowtie to come to the ring

Flash and Team Juvens turned their attention to the centre of the ring. "Hey, Dieter, can I have the roster sheet?" she asked him. The Totodile handed the sheet over to Flash so she could read it. She frowned slightly. First fight was that jerk Zilea against some Meditite named Naahes. "Hope she gets beat up by that kid's psychic attacks," she mumbled.

"Not possible," Zapi informed her, his voice still showing signs of anger, "Only physical moves allowed. And only Normal and Fighting moves are allowed. I think the exception is attacks that affect the user or something," he further explained. Flash crossed her arms and grumbled. So much for that advantage. "Though, I think that Meditite guy is allowed to use Meditate… though it'd leave him open," he added.

Flash shrugged. "Well… I guess I'll have to see."

* * *

Francis had put a lot of work and effort in turning the hovel of a base into a respectable and exquisite reception room for the coronation ceremony that was to take place this very day. He had made sure to take exceedingly thorough notes of what was needed to fulfil the requirements. He had covered the drab rock table with an exquisite, silky white cloth with a square formation of purple dots. He had arranged the table scape with nine round wooden cups in an even row save for the ninth cup being at the top of the table.

The hay beds had been scooped up and reorganized into smaller patches on a thick, purple blanket with a golden letter B in a laurel wreath insignia on its centre. It was a vital piece of cloth that was used for important events like these. He double checked to make sure it was properly fluffed up, and that the small hay 'chairs' were usable as seats. There was a limit to how much he could bring from his home.

His eyes went to the table again, and he hoped that his fellow noblemen would bring the needed chairs for the ceremony. He had informed them of his lack of certain furniture, so they should be bringing what he had requested.

He was very excited as he tugged the rolled up red carpet towards the door. Placing it down after an arduous drag, he carefully aligned it so it would roll straight out of the door. He lightly head butted the red fabric to unroll the carpet; the entry had to be posh enough to prove his fellow Bluntentooths that he still lived by the proper standards.

This day was important for Francis. Disbanding the Rescue Team was not _that_ much of an inconvenience to him at all. He had been planning to tell Flash sometime in the future, but seeing as she had already had had that in mind, it fit perfectly. He still was very concerned about Loopy's future and what he would do after that brutish tournament Flash had dragged him into. While he didn't appreciate his lack of ability to form coherent sentences and always looking for the brash, foolhardy approach on things, he was a kind individual. Unlike other fighting types he had met. But he reminded himself he should not judge.

He hoped that the team with the childish and clamorous buccaneer Totodile would have no objections accepting him to the team, unless he would force that Machop to walk the plank in some kind of an initiation process to join the team. He chuckled to himself when he imagined the scene. That would be a hilarious scene indeed.

Thinking of the initiation process, he was reminded of his own that he was about to have. Ah, the sweet and lovable Alicia. It was with her Francis had been when he had been absent from the team. And when they would be formally pronounced mates along with the coronation, he would be _Lord_ Francis of Bluntentooth IV Junior, head of the Bluntentooth Family. He sighed as he started longingly out the window, resting his lower jaw on his front paws.

The main reason he had kept this from Flash was that he did not feel it was of her business, hence why he refrained from butting into hers. She had been kind enough to allow him to have the coronation in the team base. Originally it had been planned to be at another location, but they had caught wind of those Sharpenslash Sneasel had found out about it and had tried to ruin it all. The Bluntentooths and Sharpenslashers had been feuding for generations to come, and the last major conflict had involved the Sharpenslash Family having killed his father Lancelot.

He wished misfortune on the whole bunch of those despicable Sneasel. Despite not approving of vengeful desires, he knew that he had to put the Sharpenslashers into their place. Said thing would be difficult, unfortunately, for those Sneasel were better warriors than his own fellow Rattata. He hated to admit that fact, and he could not stand that pompous Narcis being in a more respectable Rescue Team. It was simply not fair.

He diverted his built up ire to the small door mat he had placed by the entrance. He adjusted it just slightly to make it fit the symmetry more. It felt overly pedantic, but he had to concentrate on more important things.

* * *

Flash sat back in her seat, crossing her arms as she frowned. "Well, that was a disappointment," she grumbled. Zilea had won the fight with just a few hits on that Meditite, and she hadn't even been hit at all during the match. The moment she had had the upper hand, Flash had stopped paying much attention to the match.

"Well, can't say I didn't expect it," Zapi spoke up with a shrug, "I heard that Zilea girl is pretty tough." Flash looked down at the Pichu, clenching her paws.

"So, what?" she snapped back at him, causing him to flinch. "She was just lucky! That stupid Nana guy looked like he was thinking he could meditate his way to victory or something."

Zapi twiddled with his small claws. "Gee you sound like you have something against that Machop."

Flash's glare hardened. "Yes," she firmly replied, staring down the Pichu even further. "She actually came over the other day and started taunting us. And she-" She stopped before she accidentally got to the part when she had kissed Loopy. She frowned as she tried to think up of something to quickly make up for that slip up. "She said Loopy should just forfeit before the match!"

The Pichu raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. "But… that's kinda common. I mean, I've heard a lot of fighters taunt before the matches and such," he told her. "It's nothing you really should get so upset about."

"She made fun of me!" Flash spat back, "hung me up against the wall too. I hope Loopy punches that smirk off her face!"

"ARR, Flash, lassie, don't let the temparr get the bettarr of you!" Dieter spoke up, swinging his sabre to emphasize his point.

Inza put her claw to her forehead. "You r'lly brought th't thing in here?"

Zapi's ears twitched. "Yeah, it'd be a good idea you put that thing away before you hit someone with it. I don't wanna get tossed out because of you." The Totodile grumbled and put his wooden sword away.

Flash used the momentary argument to stray away from the previous subject and looked down towards the ring to see the Wartortle referee beckon the next two participants. She quickly recognized the two as Loopy and the Tyrogue. It was about time; this was what she had been looking forward to. The two fighting types were at their respective corner of the ring, but when Flash looked a bit closer, she noticed that Loopy seemed just a little bit nervous compared to Tyke's more confident smirk.

"Guys, pay attention, the fight's about to start," she told Team Juvens. Her voice gave away the new worry that had replaced her anticipation. The three stopped arguing about Dieter's antics and focused their attention on the upcoming fight.

"COMING UP FOR THE NEXT FIGHT IS BETWEEN TWO NEW SCRAPPERS; LOOPY THE MACHOP IN THE RED CORNER, AND TYKE THE TYROGUE IN THE BLUE CORNER!" Spathi loudly announced from the booth he was sitting in to observe the fight. Flash winced; that Makuhita sure had strong lungs, and combined with that megaphone his loud voice kept the crowd listening. Flash felt a pity for those Pokémon who had sensitive hearing. She looked to her side and saw Zapi covering his ears.

"Gee, why does Spathi need to be so loud? It's not as no one's paying any attention," he complained, rubbing his ears.

Flash half smiled. "Can't say I know how you feel." She leaned closer to him. "But don't you put up with Dieter a lot?"

"Yeah, but I got used to it." Zapi glanced over at him. "Except the mornings. Not always fun to get woken up by a Totodile screaming his lungs, telling us to abandon ship."

This made Flash imagine the scene of Dieter bursting into a room, yelling his pirate lingo. Her half smile turned into a wide grin as she temporarily lost herself in the thought of the scenario. Perhaps Loopy would've had a blast being in that team?

"FIGHT!" Spathi's loud, announcing voice snapped Flash out of her thoughts, and she quickly got on the edge of her seat to watch the two contestants. She saw Tyke already having gotten the first strike in, having sent Loopy reeling with a very quick punch to the cheek.

"_Cheap shot,"_ she thought bitterly as she clenched her paws. She had to admit it was a surprisingly fast hit despite them both starting off in their respective corners. Had that punk really been training a lot since their last encounter?

"ARR! Loopy, matey, don't let a Mach Punch catch you off guAARRD!" Dieter yelled out, shaking his fist. His outburst was quickly answered by another light smack at the back of his head from the same Nidoking from earlier. She understood his annoyance; Dieter's loud voice was a bit grating despite the rest of the crowd cheering on the fight. She could feel some irate Pokémon glancing towards Dieter whenever he opened his mouth.

Flash rolled her eyes, hoping that Dieter would pipe down a bit, and looked back down at the ring. She saw Loopy trying to punch Tyke, but the Tyrogue nimbly hopped back to avoid the blow. Flash could feel herself frown when she could see his confident grin from the distance. When she saw Tyke quickly circle around Loopy to dodge his Low Kick and deliver a swift punch to the back of Loopy's head, she started to worry that Tyke really _had_ trained a lot for this tournament.

And now he was taunting Loopy by holding his hand over his forehead, forming an L with his thumb and index finger, and then pointed at the Machop. Flash gritted her teeth; she really wanted to get down there and kick Tyke's teeth in, but doing so would be a sure-fire way to get Loopy disqualified. That stupid Tyrogue would never let her and Loopy live that defeat down should he win.

"Dang, that Tyrogue guy's on fire!" Zapi said.

"I wish he was literally _on_ fire," Flash growled. She looked down at the Pichu and saw him look up at her, tilting his head slightly. Before he could say anything she continued. "We met during a mission. He and his wimpy friends ambushed me and poisoned Loopy. Ran away like a bunch of sissies when we managed to cure him."

"Wow, he musta been training a lot since he can stand up to Loopy," Zapi commented, looking back down at the ring again. Flash did the same, and saw that Loopy blocked another Mach Punch from Tyke. At least he was still standing up and wasn't showing any signs of getting knocked down just yet.

She then saw Loopy spotting her in the audience, and smiled at her. Her eyes widened when she saw him raising his hand to wave at her. _"No, stupid! Now isn't the time!"_ she thought to herself, smacking her forehead with exasperation. The Tyrogue dashed towards Loopy, seizing the opportunity and rammed his shoulder into Loopy's chest in a powerful Tackle. The attack sent him staggering back, clutching his chest with a pained expression. He fell down and lay on the canvas, still holding his chest.

Flash saw the Wartortle referee walk up and gesture to Tyke to stay away while he was about to count. She could see Tyke's still irritatingly smug grin on his face as he threw some punches in the air. She covered her eyes with her paw. "I can't watch," she said to herself.

"One! Two! Three!" the referee began his count, pointing down at the downed Machop for every count.

"Hey, Flash, don't worry, it's not like he's knocked out, only knocked down so far," Zapi assured her, putting a paw on her back.

Inza grabbed Dieter by the shoulder to keep him from standing up and having another angry fit directed at Loopy not getting up.

"Six! Seven! Ei-" The referee halted his count when Loopy quickly jumped to his feet, standing tall with his fists raised. The Wartortle backed away, gesturing the two fighters to continue. Flash looked up and half smiled; at least Loopy wasn't going to let himself be defeated just yet.

"_Come on, punch his face in!"_ Flash cheered him in her thoughts. She didn't want to yell it out and get other Pokémon to look at her. What if Don – or someone who knew him – was watching? What if he'd pass by the dojo and spot her through the windows? This thought made her sink back in her seat, looking for any windows where she could potentially be spotted from.

She turned her focus down to the ring again, and saw that neither Loopy nor Tyke had attempted to attack each other after Loopy got up. They were both waiting for the other one to attack. She noticed that her team mate had a angrier look on his face. At least Loopy seemed to shake off the nervousness he was having earlier.

Tyke dashed towards him, using another Mach Punch, and struck another blow to Loopy's face before he could react. Loopy tried to retaliate with a punch, but the Tyrogue swiftly stepped back. Tyke waved his hand a little, as if it had been slightly hurt by the recent attack, but he still kept a confident stare towards Loopy. Flash could see his expression shift to a more determined one when he cracked his knuckles, keeping his distance should Loopy attempt attacking.

Loopy quickly approached the Tyrogue, raising his arm to try another Karate Chop. Tyke did the usual and dashed towards Loopy to intercept the attack with a Mach Punch. When Tyke punched Loopy across the face, the Machop quickly embraced his arms around Tyke and lifted him up. Flash could almost see that Loopy was fed up after having been punched repeatedly, and Tyke was desperately trying to break free.

"Loopy better not hold on for too long," Zapi mused loud enough for Flash to hear. "He might get a warning. Heck, he might even get disqualified if he's unlucky."

Flash looked down at Zapi, and back at the ring. She stayed silent and hoped Loopy would let go eventually.

Loopy turned around and let go of the Tyrogue, tossing him across the ring. He punched his fist into his palm. She could see he was getting tired, but also aggravated.

Tyke scrambled to his feet before the referee could start counting. He closed the distance between him and Loopy warily, keeping his guard up. His smug grin had faltered a bit while he was contemplating on how to attack next. He rubbed his back, apparently still feeling a slight pain from that bear hug Loopy had given him.

The Tyrogue then dashed to the side, avoiding another Low Kick from Loopy. He raised his arm and went for a Brick Break. The Machop just barely dodged the attack by a half inch, and Tyke's hand struck the floor, causing a light tremble. He grabbed his hand, letting out a cry of pain after having hit the floor at a blunt angle.

Loopy stepped up to the Tyrogue and looked down at him. Tyke looked back up at him, and seemed to mouth something to him before Loopy raised his hand to do a Karate Chop. Tyke tried to get a Brick Break attack in but when he raised his other hand, the side of Loopy's palm connected to his chest with enough force to send the Tyrogue tumbling across the ring, skidding to a halt near the ropes.

The Wartortle referee walked up to the downed Tyrogue and began his count. "One! Two!"

Flash clenched her paw, grinning. "Yes! I knew that all it'd take would be one or two hits against that wimp!" she exclaimed. She was back at sitting on the edge of her seat after having slouched against the back of the seat.

"Aye, Flash mate, but don't be counting yer booty before you secure the treasure!" Dieter spoke up. "The ref still be countin'!"

Flash rolled her eyes. "I don't see him getting up," she replied, pointing down at the ring. She saw that Tyke had yet to get up.

"Seven! Eight! Nine!" the referee continued the count. But before he could make the last count, Tyke tried to scramble to his feet, but slipped and fell on his back. "Ten! Knockout!" There was a mixture of cheer and disappointment in the crowd when Loopy was declared the winner of the round. Flash almost wanted to know which ones were cheering for that Tyrogue. But it didn't matter; the referee walked up to Loopy and lifted his hand up, declaring him the victor.

"What I tell ya?" Flash told Dieter, "that Tyke punk wasn't as tough as he thought he was."

"The crowd kinda thinks differently," Zapi spoke up, earning a glare from Flash, "Well, that Tyke guy seemed to be a bit of an underdog compared to Loopy, and to be fair, he kinda did well against him."

Flash resisted the urge to bop the Pichu upside the head. "So you're saying you were rooting for Tyke?" she growled back at him through her clenched teeth.

"No, I'm saying that Tyke was more lightweight than Loopy. It's easier to knock him down, especially with that big head." He pointed at his head with an awkward grin. "I know from experience."

Flash rolled her eyes again. "Whatever, he still only needed one punch and the victory was his!" she spat back. Meanwhile, the contestants left the ring to make room for the next fight.

"And Zilea only needed one or two punches as well," Zapi pointed out, "so Loopy might be in for a tough match against her."

Flash crossed her arms and grumbled. She knew Zapi had a point, and she hoped Loopy would give that Zilea a good beat down. Even though she wasn't in any need of any cash prizes, she'd at least want a reason to rub it into that stupid Machop's face afterwards.

* * *

Francis paced back and forth inside the shack. All the preparations were complete and all that remained was the waiting. Despite everything looking proper he felt an ounce of fret tingle in his mind. What if he'd bungle up the ceremony by running his mouth? What if he'd become too excited and come off as a power hungry hector? He was looking forward to becoming the head of the Bluntentooth family, but he wanted to be seen as a respectable leader.

He stopped his impatient pacing and looked at the small mirror he had set up against the wall. It was a fine mirror that he also had managed to bring with him. He licked his paw and slicked some of the fur on his head back to make himself look a bit better, albeit overdoing it. He drew a sigh and resumed to pacing back and forth.

He tried to concentrate on all the merriment he would have during the ceremony, but he got felt a chill down his spine. It was an unpleasant feeling, and he hated having negative thoughts prior to an important event. He had a tendency to have his attention diverted when he had fearful thoughts like these.

He heard a noise and let off a startled squeak. He felt every muscle tense up along with his heartbeat speeding up. He looked around frantically and deduced that the sound was probably from the creaky old wood having let off a sound due to the sunlight shining down on it. It had tendencies to do that after rainy, humid nights. He took a few deep breaths to ease himself; he was getting too worked up about petty things.

He looked down on the red carpet and saw that it was a bit pleated. He straightened it out with his front paws, making sure it looked proper. He wouldn't want it to look like he had rushed the tidying in the last minute. It was just the waiting that was making him at unease. He walked up to the window and rested his forepaws on the frame, gazing out at the distance. Judging by the sun's position, they would be here within two hours or so.

He heard another creak from outside, but waved it off. He let off another sigh, this one with a slight smile. Maybe he should pay Miss Flash and Loopy a visit or two should he have the spare time. After all, despite the short duration, it had been a rather fun adventure experience for him. Bluntentooths rarely did venture outside Thunderwave Cave and the Town Square. And it would help prove his future subjects that he was not a coward.

An unnaturally cold breath of air wafted across his back. He sucked in air and swivelled around instantly. He was about to pass it off as a draft caused by the open door and window, but it was too cold compared to the air outside. His eyes went to the door, and he gave the curtain he had attached above said doorway to act as a door. It didn't show any signs of it fluttering from any drafts. Why was this anxiety so persistent?

He walked up to the curtain and adjusted it just a bit. It did seem a bit off. Perhaps he had been rushing the preparations after all, and maybe the ill feelings he had was an intuitional warning of his hastiness? He took another deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. He proceeded to turn his attention towards the dining table and count the seats (and those that were eventually going to be brought by his fellow Bluntentooths) to once again make sure he had laid the table for enough guests.

He heard a whoosh followed by light steps rapidly approaching him from behind. Before he had time to react, a slim, black furred arm wrapped around his neck and pulled him to a stand on his hind legs. He was about to yell out in shock, but his assailant pressed a piece of cloth against his mouth, hindering to utter anything but a muffle. He tried to pry himself off the grip with his front paws, but the attacker was too strong.

When he could distinguish the long razor sharp claws at the end of the paws, he inhaled sharply in a moment of discovery. In a moment of panic, he let loose a rushed Flame Wheel attack around him. The fire attack that surrounded his body and his assailant was weak, but still effective enough to free him from the grip and the piece of cloth. He scrambled away to get some distance and turned around to get a good look on the hostile Pokémon.

It was a Sneasel. He raised his eyebrows, both in anger and out of fear. He could immediately see that was a Sharpenslash Sneasel and he wondered how that filthy vermin had managed to find him in this place. He knew for certain it wasn't Narcis; that conceited simpleton would never lay his paw on him solely for the reason it would 'taint his beauty'. Still, the rage of just seeing one of them in his supposed reception area made him feel a little dizzy.

The Sneasel giggled after she had brushed the slight burn damage that had been done to her. She stood tall and looked down at him, holding her sharp claws ready. "You really think you could hold your little ceremony undisturbed?" she spoke up, keeping her confident smirk on her face.

Francis vision blurred a bit when he heard that. Were there more of those Sharpenslash Sneasel outside waiting? Were they going to ambush his fellow Bluntentooth Rattata? "You vile cur!" he spat out, "You are as unintelligent as you are pathetic. Vacate this area or I will be forced to send a Flame Wheel in your direction!" he threatened.

The Sneasel bared her teeth in a wide grin as she giggled again. "Oh, you won't do that. It'd be a shame if you accidentally set anything in here on fire, wouldn't it?" she then pointed out as she started to approach him slowly.

He growled and felt the fur on his back rise. "It will not matter where you will take me in your kidnapping, they will find you!" He stumbled as he tried to back away from the advancing Sneasel. "My world, what have you done to me?" he then blurted out. He could feel his eyelids becoming very heavy.

The Sneasel rolled her eyes with a light shrug. "Who said anything about kidnapping? And besides, you should be asleep any second now. I guess the Sleep Powder I applied on the cloth seemed a bit aged, but it should do the trick."

Francis gulped as he felt his heart skip a beat. Despite his fear induced adrenaline kick, the effects of the sedating powder was getting the better of him. He felt himself nodding off, his mind suddenly pleading for him to fall asleep. He tried to focus on the Sneasel, but was beginning to see double. In the attempt to power up a Flame Wheel to intimidate her calling him out on his previous threat, he felt his legs giving away form his weight and he fell down on his side.

The last thing he saw before falling asleep was the despicable Sneasel standing right over him and kneeling down to grab him.

"Sweet dreams."


	40. All is fair in love and war

_**Chapter XL: All is fair in love and war**_

A/N: This is the second part of the previous chapter. Don't you hate it when chapters risk getting too long and you have to split them? Especially when they get split multiple times? Although I have a feeling that there might be some… suggestive themes. I might have to tread carefully should I want to keep this at an appropriate rating.

* * *

Fighting was fun. At least it was at this point. While it was exciting to go on adventure with Flash, there was the risk of her yelling at him. At least Loopy wouldn't have to deal with that during this tournament. With no risk of any poison or any other mean ailments, it was what he enjoyed most; physical brawling and proving his strength. And it was quite safe, at least as safe as Spathi had made it out to be.

He still slightly surprised over how well Tyke had fought back against him. He never got the chance to speak with the Tyrogue after the match, though. After the match, he had said something about there not being a point sticking around and had left. Loopy didn't like that; he wanted to ask him how he had improved so significantly.

As he was sitting in the locker room with other participants waiting for their turn to fight, he was approached by a familiar Machoke. He looked up at the towering Pokémon and smiled inquisitively.

"Yo, Loops, gotta admit, that was one nice hit you got on that Tyrogue guy," he commended, giving Loopy a hearty slap on his back.

"Oof!" Loopy uttered, surprised by the sudden dunk, "Thank, Kuglo, but name is Loopy." He scratched the back of his neck. At least he was able to remember the Machoke's name when they meet earlier today.

Kuglo guffawed and put his hand on his hip. "Well, I guess I can't give a nick to a nick. That's kinda silly," he admitted after his burst of laughter. He then sat down next to Loopy and leaned against the wall. "Anyways, kid, if you wanna get far in this, you really want to step up your game." He held out a clenched fist towards Loopy.

The Machop tilted his head. "Up game? Is more game upstair?" The big Machoke both seemed helpful and confusing to him at the same time.

"Man, kid, you're as slow as your moves. You need more technique in your punches. This is a tournament, not a rescue team mission, you gotta think differently," he advised, throwing a quick jab in front of him. "That Tyrogue would've kicked your ass had you not gotten that clean hit on him. Little guy had a lot of spirit, but I don't think he'd have much hopes against my bro." His shoulders slumped down slightly.

"Something wrong with brother?" Loopy asked. He tried to pay attention to the advice Kuglo was giving him, even though it was often annoying to understand what they meant. But he did notice the slight mood change.

The Machoke sighed. "Well, you're the one who took his place after he got booted off the tournament. It was because he was an idiot, and I wanna know who told Spathi about it." He punched his fist into his palm. "He was looking forward to this, and he got pretty upset when that tubby Makuhita yelled him out."

He looked down at Loopy and half smiled. "But I can't take it out on you; you don't have a part in that. Anyway, kid, be careful on your next fight. Zilea's tougher than she looks. Surprised me when I was sparring with her a few days ago."

Loopy smiled. Zilea was nice, but at the moment she was in another locker room for the girls. It was Spathi's rules, not to be argued with. He knew that she was very strong, and was excited to fight and see how well she fought. She had made Flash angry though. He didn't appreciate that. That was mean of her.

He felt the larger fighting type nudge his side. "You like her?" Kuglo asked, smirking.

Loopy felt a weird rush of emotions at that remark. "She nice, but like Flash more. Flash fun friend," he replied, not quite getting the hint.

Kuglo chuckled. "Well, don't do anything silly during the match, or you might get disqualified."

Loopy got confused again. "Do what stupid?"

"You know what I mean," the Machoke hinted.

A Primeape stepped in through the open door. The large round Pokémon looked around with a pretty irate expression on his face. "Hey, the guy named Loopy?" he called out. Loopy hesitated on standing up; that big meanie had threatened to toss him through the wall. Just because he asked him if that fur of his was fluffy or if it was fat. Although he then had gotten to know that he had temper issues, as it was part of his species.

"Y-yes?" he then answered. He hoped the burly pig monkey Pokémon wouldn't yell him out for no reason.

The Primeape pointed his thumb over his should (or where it seemed to be, Loopy couldn't really tell). "You're up next. Hurry up, crowd's getting impatient already." Loopy stood up and headed for the doorway, but just as he passed the Primeape, the larger fighting type raised both his arms, showing a very irritated expression on his face. "AND IF YOU CALL ME FAT AGAIN I'LL CRUSH YOU LIKE A TOOTHPICK!"

Loopy backed up to the wall of the corridor that was on the other side of the doorway, having felt his heart skip a beat. Boy was that ape still mad at him for earlier. "Uhm, toothpick you break, no crush," he corrected. He didn't know if it was a smart idea to point that out, but maybe it'd be nice if he'd help the Primeape talk right. Maybe that silly Rattata was rubbing off on him with all the correcting?

The Primeape growled loudly and raised his clenched fist. Loopy beat a hasty retreat through the corridor and towards the ring. He hoped that big monkey wouldn't go after him when the tourney was done. His fury was much worse than Flash's. His worry about the Primeape quickly shifted into a concern over Flash.

He couldn't deny it, adventuring in mystery dungeons with her had been fun. So much fun fights and excitement. But he worried about her tendency to steal. He didn't like her doing that, no matter how much she claimed it was accidental. He hoped that during the time he had been her friend, she would learn to stop stealing. It was sad she didn't want rescue team anymore, but her debt was paid. When he thought about it, he almost felt as if she had used him, but she wouldn't do that.

Maybe Flash was worried about him too? Maybe he'd have just as fun with that silly Dieter. He was a funny silly pirate pretender and all that. He hoped Flash would visit, though. Ever since he woke up by that river, he didn't know what had happened before. It was all so foggy in his mind.

He emerged from the corridor and entered the centre room of the dojo. The ring was up ahead of him, and he could see the Wartortle referee looking down at him impatiently.

"Jeez, where've you been, slowpoke?" he called down to him. Loopy hurried up to the ring, walking up the short staircase that led up to the ring. He didn't get why that water turtle was so angry about; he felt that he was on time. Maybe he had been walking a bit slowly.

He climbed into the ring and went to his corner. At the opposite side stood Zilea with her arms crossed. He was a little nervous to fight her, but not as nervous as he was with being exposed to the crowd in the dojo. He felt uneasy with everyone looking down at him, just as he had felt when he was fighting Tyke. He glanced around to see if he could spot Flash again; he already forgot where she was seated.

"Are you ready?" the referee Wartortle asked him, still looking a bit impatient. Loopy nodded; he knew that turtle was as easy to tick off as Spathi when he was in a bad mood. He saw Zilea smirk and clenching her fists as she got into her fighting stance. Loopy did the same, but was still feeling uneasy.

"FIGHT!" the Wartortle exclaimed with a gesture of his arm. He stepped away from the two contestants, but made sure he could supervise the fight.

Loopy raised his fists and stared down the other Machop. He wasn't going to get caught off guard by a sudden attack like when he had faced Tyke. Zilea didn't show any signs of trying to attack just yet, but Loopy guessed she was on the same mind-set of not attacking too quickly.

Zilea then lowered her guard and put one hand on her hip. She leaned over to the side and smiled at him. "You're really gonna go easy on me?" she taunted with a wink.

Loopy ran up to her and punched her in the face. He really didn't understand why she'd get so unfocused so suddenly, but he knew he'd have to take his chance of an opening when he saw one. The hit caused the female Machop to reel back, holding her face.

"Dude! Cheap shot!" she yelled, glaring at him. She punched her fist into her palm. "Well, if that's the way you want it…" she growled as she started approaching him.

Loopy backed off when he saw her approach him. There was something powerful coming from her the way she walked. Her steps were firm and it made him feel a bit secure as he kept his distance from her. He stopped his retreat and ran forward to hit her with a Karate Chop. As he swung his arm toward her, she raised her arm to parry the attack.

She batted his hand away, throwing him off balance, and answered punch of her own into his stomach. The blow knocked the air out of him and he doubled over. As he was gasping for breath, he felt her arms wrap around his chest and being lifted up upside down. He flailed his legs to try make her let go of him, but her grip was firm.

"That was the weakest Karate Chop ever!" she taunted as she threw him down on the canvas with a power bomb like throw. Loopy hit the canvas and cringed at the pain in the back of his head. Before the referee could start counting, he got up and reeled a bit before straightening himself up. "If that's the best you can do, this'll be really fun!"

"I can better do," Loopy replied back lowly. He raised his fists and sized her up again. He now knew he had to keep his distance from her; she seemed to be good at grappling, which he had noticed back when she threatened to slam Flash the same way yesterday. She suddenly started running towards him. He got ready to attack when she'd get in range, but hoped that he'd manage to strike before her should she try grapple him again.

He pulled back his arm and tried to send a fist into her face's direction. He felt his fist connecting to her hard face, but she didn't show any signs of any pain as she ploughed into him and wrapped her arms around him. He tried to punch her again, but she reaffirmed her grip and picked him up to hold him over his head.

She balanced his body over her for a few seconds before tossing him to the other side of the ring. Loopy went sailing through the air to the other side and hit the canvas face first again, this time by the ropes. It hurt, but it wasn't anything that'd knock him out or weaken him. He got up and turned to face again, and saw she had lowered her guard to put her hand on her hip again.

"You know, I'm just playing with you. Wouldn't want me to get too rough, would you?"

Loopy growled and raised his fists. "No play! Fight!" he replied before he dashed towards her to use another Karate Chop on her.

Zilea waited patiently and when Loopy was about to try with a sideways Karate Chop, she just raised her arm and grabbed his incoming attack. Loopy still felt his attack had in some way connected, but now Zilea had his hand in a firm grasp.

"Wow, look who's being all serious. You're kind of the guy who solves everything with a punch, aren't you?" she told him with a smile as she effortlessly kept her hold on Loopy's hand. She moved her free hand under his jaw and lightly caressed it. She twisted his hand to keep him from thinking of punching her back. "But you know," she then added before she put her hand on his shoulder. She jumped up, using Loopy as a plinth, and turned cartwheel over him, letting his hand go in the process.

She then wrapped her arms around his chest from behind and locked her hands around his stomach. "I'm the kind of gal who solves everything with a SUPLEX!" When yelling the last word, she heaved Loopy up and slammed him down behind her with might enough to shake the ring slightly. She stood up and flexed her muscles to pose in front of the audience that was cheering loudly for her.

Loopy felt a throbbing pain in the back of his head. This impact had really hurt as opposed to the other ones. He weakly rolled over on his back and slowly sat up, holding his head. It hurt just moving it around. His vision was blurry when he tried to focus, but he knew that he wasn't out yet; that Wartortle referee hadn't begin counting yet. He was about to stand up when Zilea approached him and shoved him back down on the mat.

He felt her hands press down on his chest, pinning him down. He tried to push himself off the ground, but she was intent on keeping him down. He kicked with his legs, but that didn't help at all. He looked up at her and wondered why she was doing this. But his mind felt foggy after the slam he had a hard time concentrating. While she seemed to be having fun, he wasn't.

"Hey, ref, are you gonna start counting or what? I've got this game right here!" she called over to the Wartortle. The referee stomped up to them and gave Zilea a hard should tackle to her side. She was knocked off Loopy and was sent tumbling to the other side of the ring. She jumped to her feet and glared at the water type. "WHAT THE HELL, MAN?" she shouted, shaking her fist towards him.

"You've got a lot of nerve, little lady!" the Wartortle spat back, pointing an accusing claw towards her. "I thought it was made VERY DAMN clear the rules for this tournament are NOT the wrestling rules! What part of 'no pins' can you not get through your thick skull?" he berated her loudly.

Zilea frowned and took a quick step towards the Wartortle, pulling her fist back. The Wartortle let out a high pitched yelp and instantly tucked into his shell. The shell dropped down on the canvas and rolled onto the red backside. The Wartortle popped out from hiding and realized he was on his back.

"Look, ref, I just got a little carried away," Zilea explained, smirking at the sight of the Wartortle not being able to get up.

"This is your only warning!" he spat back, pointing at her while struggling to get up. "You stray from the rules one more time and you're disqualified! Stick to your Seismic Toss if you want to toss anyone!"

Loopy had gotten over his dizziness and had gotten to his feet during their argument, and walked up to the Wartortle to help him stand up. Once the water type got to his feet, he slapped away Loopy's hand. "Why shelly be angr-"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?" the Wartortle yelled back, glaring down at Loopy. "YOU WANT TO BE DISQUALIFIED TOO?"

Loopy backed away from the enraged referee. "Fine, sorry, sorry, just want help…" he mumbled. The interruption had benefited him; he had gotten time to recover from Zilea's attacks and was ready to go back into the fight.

The Wartortle growled. "Go on, resume the fight. But I'm keeping my eye on you, Zilea, and threaten me again and you're out!" he warned. He made a gesture with his arm to resume the round.

Loopy saw Zilea roll her eyes while he raised his fists. Even though he had recovered, it was only mentally, slightly. He still felt some parts of his body ache just a little bit after the previous slams he had gotten from her. But now that the referee had prohibited her from doing that, he shouldn't have to worry about that too much.

The female Machop started running towards him again. Even though her movement was rather sluggish, the distance was still short enough to catch him off guard. She raised her hand and delivered a Karate Chop across his face, sending him reeling. Loopy retaliated with a Low Kick, but despite his foot hitting her shin, she only fell down to one knee- she quickly recovered and hopped away from him to create some distance between the two.

"Come on, Loopy, show me what you really got!" she taunted, beckoning him with both of her hands. "I wanna see what you can pull off before I finish you off!" Loopy responded with a silent frown and concentrated his inner power to make use of his Focus Power to get temporarily stronger. "Ooh, Focus Power. I suppose you need that to actually _do_ something, chump!" she teased.

Loopy could feel the muscles inside him bulge with power. He was going to show her that he wasn't weak. He had trained for this, he would show her. Flash would probably be very happy if he gave that Machop a good knockdown. He approached her, wary of her relaxed stance, and raised his hand to deliver an overhead Karate Chop on her, powered up by his inner focus.

As Loopy swung his fist down with all his power, Zilea ducked slightly with her head, intentionally letting him hit her across her crests on top of her head. The moment Loopy hit the rock hard crest, he felt a sharp flare up and the side of his hand. He hunched over and backed away from her, holding his hand in pain.

"Owowowowow!" he whined, rubbing his injured right hand to try ease the pain. He fought back the tears that were forming in his eyes. Not only had he hit the protective crests with all his might, he had also seemed to have struck a pressure point in his palm.

Zilea almost did a double take at the sight. "Wow, I never thought you'd do something that stupid," she remarked. She rubbed the top of her head and then put her hand on her hip, tilting her head. "You okay?" she asked him, her tone appearing to be filled with a little bit of concern.

Loopy groaned and glanced up at her, still holding his hand. "No, hand hurt," he replied. He saw her approach him and he tried to back away, but she quickly grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him towards her.

"Too bad. I guess I gotta win this thing now!" She twisted her arm to force him to kneel down, and then grabbed him by the neck with her free hand. She spun around and tossed him straight up. She looked up at the airborne Machop and punched her fist into her palm, flashing a wide grin. "Alright! SEISMIC!" She dashed towards the closest corner and jumped up on top of the post.

She turned around and leapt off the post towards Loopy, arms extended. She grabbed onto his ankles just as he was starting to fall down, and used the momentum to flip forward and over him. "ZILEA!" holding his ankles behind her, she continued rolling in the air, spinning Loopy along with her. Once they had descended far enough, Zilea mustered all her strength to flip Loopy over and in front of her. "SLAAAM!" Letting out her cry, she threw him downwards towards the mat.

Loopy hit the canvas back first with a sickeningly loud smash with enough force to bounce him up again before remaining laying down on the mat. It was amazing that the throw hadn't completely broken the ring. He heard Zilea land hard onto the mat herself from a distance, and he felt that the air had been knocked out of him. Her version of the Seismic Toss had really hurt; he could barely move, and he wondered if he had broken any bones from the toss.

He struggled to look up to see Zilea flexing her muscles, posing towards the cheering audience proudly. He heard a strange ringing noise in his ear, probably a result from the throw as well. He was almost amazed that he was still conscious. The Wartortle walked up to him after Zilea had said something to him (probably defending her version of the Seismic Toss being legitimate) and started to count.

"ONE! TWO! THREE!" he began. Loopy tried to muster his strength to push himself to a stand, but could feel his muscles didn't want to cooperate with his will. "FIVE! SIX! SEVEN!" He gritted his teeth and made a desperate push, managing to get up on his knees. "NINE!" He succeeded putting his left foot on the ground and pushed himself to a clumsy stand. He raised his fists and faced Zilea, who still was posing towards the crowd.

"Not… yet…" he mumbled in his weak state. His back hurt when he tried to remain standing up, and he wondered if it really was a good idea to get up. Zilea turned around and faced him with a slightly surprised look on her face.

"You're one persistent little guy," she remarked as she took a step towards him. Loopy stood his ground. She made a quick, sudden advanced and grabbed him by his wrists. He tried to resist her grip, but she slowly twisted his hands and held his arms toward his side. She neared her head to his, still smirking. "Why'd you have to get up? You're too much of a nice looking guy to beat up any further," she then spoke to him softly.

Loopy tried to break free, but the aches he had all over him prevented him from mustering too much power and Zilea's grip again stayed firm. He tried to move his head away from hers, wanting some personal space.

"I'm going to slam you down one more time, and you're going to stay down, handsome," she told him. He knew that if he'd get thrown down again, he'd not be able to get up. It almost irritated him how much stronger she was. It was as if his training hadn't been enough. Maybe the Rescue Team hadn't been enough training after all? He felt her arms wrap around him, and that she was about to lift him up. He got a strange idea, maybe it was a kind of an attack, he really wasn't sure, but maybe it would work.

Just as she lifted him up to try a front suplex on him, he leaned in towards her head and pressed his mouth against hers. He never really got how a kiss worked despite her showing him what it was the other day. He saw in her wide eyes that she was surprised by the action. Just as he wondered if he could use it to his advantage, he felt her arms wrap around him as she returned the kiss. It felt really icky when he could feel her thick tongue inside his mouth.

When he tried to move his head away from her, he felt one of her hands move up to the back of his head and pushed him towards her to keep him close to her. He managed to her one arm free and put it on her chest to try push her away, but she stopped her kiss and grabbed his arm. She forcefully moved it behind her back to make him hug her back. While he didn't really mind a fun hug, this was getting too much. Flash would get very angry.

"N-no! Stop!" he cried out, before Zilea planted another kiss on his cheek.

"Come on, Loopy, you know you like me," she softly told him, rubbing one of her legs against his leg.

The moment was swiftly interrupted by a powerful jet of water blasting them. The impact made the two Machop lose their hold of each other and the tumbled down on the mat.

"WHAT IN MEW'S NAME ARE YOU TWO DOING!?" he yelled out loud, looking utterly pissed off at the two. "THIS MATCH IS AT DRAW UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!" he then announced loudly to the booing crowd. Loopy wasn't sure why they were booing. Were they angry with him or Zilea or both? He wiped his mouth in disgust after Zilea's kiss; it had gone horribly wrong.

"Look, buddy, he came onto me! You totally saw that!" Zilea argued, having gotten to her feet. Loopy stayed quiet; he felt she kinda had a point there.

"I don't care! You two will have to take that with Spathi!" the referee growled through his teeth. Loopy sat up and heard vibrating steps approach the ring. He looked behind him to see it was the Makuhita, and the portly fighting type was equally angry as the Wartortle, if not even more. "Go on! Get!" he ushered them. Loopy scrambled to a stand and walked alongside Zilea to the edge of the ring. They both climbed over the rope and hopped down to approach the ever so angry Makuhita.

Spathi grabbed the two Machop by their necks and dragged them both to where his office was. "You two have a lot to answer for," he growled, his voice repressing an amazing amount of rage.

* * *

Francis could feel himself entering consciousness again. He felt his eyelids flickering open, but still was unable to move his body. During his state of being knocked out, it was as if he had been in a dark sea of thick, suffocating void, unable to cry for help. As he was regaining consciousness, he still did not seem to see anything but black despite trying to open his eyes. Had he gone blind?

Other questions began popping up. For how long had he been asleep? And where was he?

He tried to move, but was unable to. He quickly realized he could not move any part of his body. Something was holding him in place. Was he tied up? He couldn't feel any rope around him or anything. He knew his eyes were fully open, and even though his vision was a little blurry, he still could not see anything but pitch black.

He tried to move his head again, and with his regaining consciousness he was feeling something soft and fuzzy being pressed against his head. Perplexed by this, he tried to squirm out of whatever he was in, but to no avail.

"You're already awake? I guess that sleep powder was a bit aged after all," a familiar voice uttered _very_ close to him.

Francis felt a powerful lurch in his heart as its beat seemed to increase tenfold. He took a sharp breath as his eyes opened wide. He recognized that voice; it was that vile Sneasel, and he quickly put two and two together and figured she was the one holding him restrained.

"Where am I? Where have you taken me?" he blurted, his voice sounding a bit sluggish due to after effects of the sleep powder. He tried to struggle free from the grip, fuelled by panic, but her strong embrace remained very firm. He tried to raise his front paws up to her chest to try and push her away, but failed. He also quickly realized she had been pressing his head towards her chest from the moment he had regained consciousness.

He heard her giggle as he felt her sharp claws slowly caress against his back, lightly scratching his fur. He felt an icy tingle down the spine. "I haven't taken you anywhere, silly rat," she lowly spoke back to him. She smoothly moves her arms down towards his hips to readjust her grip, and grabbed a firm hold of his front legs, pulling him up to her eye to eye. She looked deeply into his fear stricken eyes and smiled almost warmly at him as the both lay on the floor.

Francis gasped for air, trying to regain a steady pace of breathing. His jaw was trembling, feeling unable to form a coherent sentence. He was being violated by this wanton wench! And there was nothing he could do about it. He knew these Sneasel were utterly conceited, but this one had no concept of personal space. And as if that cur had read his thoughts, she neared her face to his to the point they were just barely touching each other and softly sniffed his face.

"Your smell of fear is really strong," she breathed to him. Francis grimaced at her ice cold breath; it was uncomfortably cold. "But you look cute when scared. You should know what fun I had with you while you were out." She moved her leg up to his hip and rubbed it against it.

Francis used the moment of her lowered guard and managed to raise one paw to her neck level. He tried to push her away, but she – like all Sneasel and Sharpenslashers – was very swift to grab and restrain his paw with ease. He felt her sharp claws lightly dig into his skin, but not enough to draw blood.

"UNHAND ME THIS INSTANT!" he yelled as loud as he could. Being that close to her face, his outburst should have enough impact to her hearing to cause her to back off. It worked at first, but when he saw her once alluring, deep gaze had turned into aggravated, icy frown, complete with her bared teeth. Francis felt a lump in his throat and tried to swallow with great effort, emitting a very audible gulp. "If you would b-be so kind," he added, his voice having been reduced to a helpless squeak.

The Sneasel said nothing. She kept her piercing glare focused into his eye, breathing through her clenched teeth. Francis was beginning to feel petrified under her dangerous gaze; it was as if she was restraining herself heavily from slitting his throat in one swipe. It was now he came to a full realization that this Sneasel could at any moment kill him. Any movement of resistance, attempt of Flame Wheel – although the latter would be a good idea, its fatal drawback was she would react ahead in time while he charged it up – would cause her to react and possibly slit his throat.

"What is the point of th-" He was interrupted by one of her claws pushing his jaws to a close. Keeping her fixated glare at him, she moved her clawed paw up to his cheek and began to softly stroke it with the flat of her claws. Slowly, the glare softened up to the same warm, alluring look she had had earlier. It was only now he noticed it was a false emotion.

She moved her claw to his muzzle and flicked his whiskers almost playfully. "Hush now," she told him quietly. Taking advantage of his petrified state, she sat up, pulling Francis with her, and wrapped one arm around the defenceless Rattata's waist. She used her other claw to lightly pinch his cheek, careful not to draw blood. "It's time to set the little plan in motion."

"_What plan?"_ was Francis's initial thought as he was at the Sneasel's mercy. Before he could ponder any further, the Sneasel lowered her head and gave him a long lick from his chest up to his neck. He felt his fur stand on its end. He tried to move away, but her soft embrace kept him in place as she licked him again across his fur.

"Cease what you're doing!" he weakly cried out. But she ignored him and gave him yet another lick, only this time she moved her tongue up all the way across his cheek. He let out a yelp of disgust. His heart raced when she grabbed a hold of his front paws again, and forced him to embrace her.

As she slowly loosened her grip on his paws, she leaned in towards his ear. "Don't resist and I'll go easy on you," she whispered into his ear. She moved closer to his muzzle and pressed her mouth against it.

Francis pressed his mouth shut as she kissed him. He wished this was a horrible nightmare he could just wake up from. He shut his eyes, unable to even look at the Sneasel without feeling nauseous while she planted kiss after kiss. He wanted to say a few choice words befitting such vile wretch of a Sneasel, but he feared she'd plant a kiss on his open mouth.

"AAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEK!" a shrill scream pierced the air, causing the Sneasel to stop her acts for a brief moment. He saw her surprised look slowly turn into a wicked smirk; he watched with fear how her lips curled up into that smirk and how her eyes narrowed.

It was then he realized who had let out that scream. While the Sneasel obstructed his view, he knew it was Alicia, his mate-to-be. This was what those Sharpenslashers had planned. "Alic-" he tried to utter, but the Sneasel quickly leaned in, seizing the opportunity to give him a big smooch.

Francis couldn't stop it. He tried to utter more words in protests, but they just came out as inaudible muffled sounds. He twisted and squirmed to get a look on Alicia, and managed to spot her just over the Sneasel's shoulder. And when he finally saw her face eye to eye…

He saw her eyes reflected sadness, heartbreak, and betrayal. He tried to break free from the kiss and explain himself, but the Sneasel firmly turned him back to his previous position to stop him from doing anything like that.

"You… YOU SWINUB! HOW COULD YOU? THIS DAY OF ALL DAYS!" he heard her cry out before she ran out. Francis could hear her crying fade away as she ran away from the shack. There ran his love of his life, heartbroken all because of this Sneasel.

He gave up. He let himself fell limp and saw no more point in struggling anymore. It was over. Everything was over. Everything was ruined. And this Sneasel _finally_ ended her disgusting kiss.

"Well, that's that," she said almost cheerfully, nibbling his ear. He couldn't care about that; he couldn't believe what was going on inside her mind. Of all the fights between the Sharpenslashers and the Bluntentooths, this was a new low. This was beyond low.

A few minutes later, the Sneasel finally let him go, and he slumped down on the floor. He stared absentmindedly at the ceiling. He didn't know what the Sneasel was going to do not, but he could care less. She probably was leaving him to his fate. His meaningless fate. She had done her job assigned by the Sharpenslashers, how unethical it may be. But he couldn't bring himself to care. Because now, he was stained. He was defiled. He was…

Nothing.


End file.
